AUSTIN, Texas — Police and state troopers have identified two people accused of making and selling fake identification cards in an undercover sting.
According to the Austin Police Department, officers and the Texas Department of Public Safety have taken part in an initiative to reduce underage drinking downtown the past several months, targeting those using and making fake IDs. After citing more than 120 minors trying to use fake IDs, the Downtown Area Command Metro Tactical Team received a tip about a person living on Rio Grande Street near the University of Texas campus, manufacturing counterfeit ID cards from different states and selling them for between $60 and $200.
Police said 19-year-old Nisheet Dabadge agreed to sell an undercover detective a counterfeit ID for $200. Dabadge confessed, saying he had been making fake driver licenses with 20-year-old Raul Montano because he didn't have a job and he needed money after taking a year off from attending UT, according to an arrest affidavit.
Officers then obtained a search warrant for Dabadge's and Montano's residences. They found printers, ink cartridges, laptops, more than 350 blank ID cards with magnetic strips, two magnetic strip encoders, a holographic image stamp maker, a UV lamp, several fake IDs from Louisiana, Arizona and Idaho, two partially printed fake IDs, other ID-making materials and handwritten instructions on how to make fake IDs. The total street value of the items seized is about $70,000, according to police.
Dabadge and Montano have been charged with tampering with a government document. They are accused of manufacturing hundreds of fake ID cards sold across the state. Police said they are working with their lawyers to surrender.
Officers said they are analyzing evidence seized from Dabadge's and Montano's homes to identify people who have purchased fake ID cards.
Bob Woody, who owns more than 20 businesses downtown, said the investigation will impact the downtown area as well as students. He said he supports the initiative because it means less liability for his bars.
"I don't need youngsters, quite honestly, get out of the way because most of the clubs I'm involved with have been open years and years, and there's lines to get in, so we don't need the underage," Woody said.
Woody said his employees take classes and are trained on how to spot a fake ID.
Dabadge was originally charged with tampering with a government record, a third-degree felony. According to court records, Dabadge entered a plea of guilty or no lo contendere to a lesser charge of forgery criminal simulation – a Class A misdemeanor – and received deferred adjudication in his case. He completed community supervision and the court dismissed the case against him.
On Jan. 30, 2020, the court issued an order of nondisclosure, according to documents provided by Dabadge.