TSA: Man caught with ‘stash of fake IDs’ at Johnstown airport

A New Jersey man traveling through a Western Pennsylvnaia airport using a fake ID was caught with a stash of additional fake IDs at a security checkpoint, officials announced Monday.

The man was portraying to be someone else when he was stopped Friday at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, a civil-military airport three miles northeast of Johnstown featuring one airline.

During a screening process of the traveler’s carry-on items, officials found the fraudulent IDs and items that could be used to make IDs, according to a Transportation Security Administration news release.

TSA officers notified the Richland Police who confiscated the items and arrested the man on two felony counts of forgery. His real name was not released by the TSA, but PennLive obtained charging documents that identified him as Evens Roseme, 29, of Orange, N.J.

The court records said Roseme was trying to board a flight as a passenger using an expired passport from Haiti. The passport expired July 26, 2022.

Security officials then found he had a forged social security card, and forged green card to be a permanent United States resident, according to court records. The seized documents were in the name of Pierre Francis with a date of birth 16 years prior to his birthday.

The forged permanent resident card had Roseme’s photograph on it, according to court records. He remained in jail Monday in lieu of a $15,000 bond that required 10 percent be posted as cash.

The administration requires adult passengers to present valid identification at airport checkpoints to lower travel risks in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“This was an excellent catch on the part of our team,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Not only was this individual presenting himself as someone else, but he was also in possession of equipment that would manufacture false identification for other individuals. One of the most important security measures at an airport is confirming the identity of travelers.”