FHP uses facial recognition technology to fight ID fraud

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol are using facial recognition technology to crack down on ID fraud, Channel 9's Jeff Deal learned.

The technology is in response to a series of cases where people are obtaining driver’s licenses in someone else’s name, troopers said.

“We’ve seen these types of fraud cases locally and they’re popping up around the state,” said Eddie Ayala with the Orange County Tax Collector’s Office.

Sonia Luciano was recently busted for having a driver’s license under the name Mercedes Montero-Montero.

Investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol believe Luciano walked into the tax collector's office on Sand Lake Road in 2014 and again in 2015. Both times they said she walked out with a real replacement driver's license with her photo and Montero-Montero's name.

Eyewitness News reported earlier this month when investigators said James Santiago, a registered sex offender, provided real documents from someone in Puerto Rico to get a new ID.

When it's a replacement license like Luciano obtained, documents are not required, Eyewitness News learned. The person is just asked for personal identifying information. But clerks are expected to look at the photos on file and compare to make sure they match.

“They look for certain identifying marks, eye color,” Ayala said.

In Luciano's case, Ayala said the clerk has been fired.

The Florida Highway Patrol used a facial recognition program and it apparently flagged the differences in photos.

When investigators confronted Luciano, they said she admitted she stole the information from a friend and planned to use the fraudulent ID to help someone else enter the U.S.

"Any time anyone gets by, it's very concerning,” Ayala said.

Eyewitness News has requested more information from the Highway Patrol about its use of facial recognition technology, including how many other cases like this investigators in Central Florida are reviewing. We will update this story when the questions are answered.

Cox Media Group