"Now the Dallas school district is coping with a scandal that could result in fines and prison time for multiple parties who had their hands in something that has the makings of a full-out criminal enterprise....The district has, for several years, been issuing fake Social Security numbers to foreign citizens — mostly teachers brought in on visas to teach bilingual classes. The idea was to cut through red tape and get these teachers on the payroll more quickly."
The story goes on: "According to the report, the bogus Social Security numbers were issued as a stopgap to expedite the hiring process. They were supposed to serve as temporary identification numbers until the employees received real Social Security numbers. Once employees got the real numbers, they were supposed to tell district officials so the fake ones could be replaced. In many cases, that didn’t happen.
Why would foreign employees do with two Social Security numbers — one fake, one real? Simple. They keep one and sell one. There’s a big international market for U.S. Social Security numbers. The customers are usually illegal immigrants, looking for a way in the United States once they arrive.
The investigation found no proof that the fake numbers were provided to the Teacher Retirement System, Internal Revenue Service, or Social Security Administration. But when investigators reviewed personnel files, they learned that the fake numbers were entered on forms issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the IRS."
