A Toledo man who created and sold fake IDs on Reddit in exchange for Bitcoin has been arrested.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 34-year-old Mark A. Simon was charged with production and transfer of false identification documents and possession of equipment used in their production.
During the investigation, authorities seized around $4.7 million in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, 18 gold coins, 215 silver coins, 21 gold and silver bars and $7,00 in cash. Additionally, multiple computers, hard drives, USB drives, six modems and a printer were also confiscated.
Simon, who went by the name TedDanzigSr on Reddit, allegedly sold the fake IDs on the website and prior to that on Silk Road, a former online black market, before it was shut down in 2013.
Investigators learned of Simon after a bar employee at a pub in Springfield, Ohio, contacted police about fake IDs that they had collected. A student said he purchased his ID off of Reddit.
Authorities tracked down Simon and made arrangements to purchase fake IDs from him. Investigators were told payment would have to be made using Bitcoin.
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