Blaise Bitz (Cass Co. Jail)
FARGO (KFGO) – A Fargo man has been arrested for selling counterfeit identification cards to minors.
Police say they began investigating the case in September 2023. They obtained several warrants and determined that 19-year-old Blaise Bitz sold more than 500 fake IDs to minors, profiting more than $40,000 in the scheme.
A search of Bitz’s home in the 1200 block of 14th Ave. N. conducted on Valentines Day resulted in the seizure of additional IDs.
Bitz, a student at NDSU, is expected to face felony charges of counterfeiting and illegal control of an enterprise.
Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski says the investigation shows how important it is for bars and clubs to adopt ID scanner technology.
“We’ve been trying to address a lot of issues with liquor establishments over the past couple of years working collectively with our Liquor Control Board and City Commission, and one of the really tough issues that everyone – not just us but the establishment owners – has had to deal with is the huge proliferation of very well-done fake identification cards,” he says.
“These (fake) IDs are undetectable without the right technology and many other metros are using these as best practice across the United States. We see such a large influx not only because we’re a college town but because our establishments – with few exceptions – really don’t use the technology,” Zibolski says.
Zibolski says his department will be having discussions with the Cass County State’s Attorney’s office to determine what charges if any will be brought against the buyers of the fake IDs.
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