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AG sues company, alleges sale of fake driver's licenses Friday, Aug 31, 2007 Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The state attorney general's office filed a lawsuit Thursday against a Jonesboro company for allegedly offering fake driver's licenses to Hispanics in northeastern Arkansas. Also Thursday, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Arkansas was among 37 states that will share in a $16.75 million settlement with a company that manufacturers heart defibrillators. Arkansas will receive $390,000 in the settlement. McDaniel's office filed suit in Craighead County Circuit Court against Benjamin Sanchez, Oscar Sanchez and Rita Soto, owners and operators of International Automovil Association Inc. The company, according to the lawsuit, illegally offered international driver's licenses or documents, despite having no authority to offer such a document. "Anytime someone is issuing fake ID cards to illegal immigrants the attorney general's office is concerned," McDaniel said in a news release. Foreign drivers may legally drive in the U.S. if they have a valid driver's license from their home country and receive an International Driver's Document, he said. International Automovil Association was selling the licenses for $140 each. Legitimate International Driver's Documents cost less than $20. The settlement announced Thursday involved Guidant Corporation, a subsidiary of Boston Scientific, one of the world's largest manufacturers of implantable cardioverter defibrillators, and makers of the Ventak Prizm. The attorneys general began investigating Guidant in 2002 after the company made changes to correct a wiring problem in the Ventak Prizm that could cause the defibrillators to short circuit, according to a news release. The company continued to sell the Ventak Prizm, some without the modifications, and did not inform physicians or the public until 2005, the attorney general said. Along with paying the $16.75 million settlement, Guidant agreed to implement safety programs and to report safety information about the heart devices it manufacturers. Guidant is conducting a warranty program to allow consumers who wish to replace their Prizms with a new device at no cost and reimburse consumers up to $2,500 for out-of-pocket expenses that incur with the replacement. |
