9 Investigates sex offender accused of using fake beard, stolen info to get Florida driver's license

ORLANDO, Fla. — A convicted sex offender arrested in January on charges of exposing himself to women and girls in Orlando is now facing new fraud charges after investigators found him with a fraudulent Florida driver’s license.

James Santiago was convicted of raping a child younger than 12 in 1989, court records show.

The driver’s license he was carrying at the time had his picture on it, but someone else’s name, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes said.

“Now, we have a stolen identity (and) a sexual predator who is not being identified as such through his official Florida ID,” she said.

Investigators found that Santiago walked into the tax collector’s office on University Boulevard twice over the summer.

They said while wearing a fake beard, he produced a Puerto Rican birth certificate and a Social Security card and walked out once with a Florida ID card and the second time with a valid Florida driver’s license.

While it is troubling to have a sex offender carrying a fraudulent ID, in the larger picture it is even more serious, Montes said.

“We’re always concerned about the biggest picture, the worst scenario that can occur, and which is obviously terrorism,” she said.

Santiago told investigators that he bought the documents from someone but couldn’t remember who, FHP said.

He allegedly said he got the fraudulent ID because he has a long criminal history and couldn’t get a job, investigators said.

Cox Media Group