An Indianapolis man will spend the next three years on probation for admitting to creating and mailing roughly 30,000 fake government IDs using an online platform, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
James Watt, 26, pleaded guilty in federal court to unlawful production of document or authentication feature and money laundering.
According to federal prosecutors, between March 2019 and February 2023, Watts managed a public website that sold fake driver’s licenses paid mostly by Bitcoin. The website’s tag line boasted “Your #1 Trusted Source for Fake IDs.”
In all, Watt was paid more than 14 Bitcoin, which according to prosecutors was worth more than $1.3 million in 2025 currency.
Customers would upload a photo of themself and mailing address to the website and Watt would then make the fake ID. Watt admitted to sending the IDs through the U.S. Postal Service collection boxes, usually late at night to avoid detection.
Fake IDs are a common problem on college campuses. There have been at least five documented incidents of false government issued IDs on the Bloomington campus in January alone, according to the IU Police crime log.
Federal prosecutors said although many underage college students purchased fake IDs from Watt, many IDs were purchased by adults far older than 21 to falsify their identity.
The IDs could have been used by people to board a plane, buy cough medicine, rent a car, open a bank account, apply for government assistance, pick-up a prescription, visit a casino and purchase a firearm.
“Watt nearly became a millionaire simply through the manufacturing and mailing of thousands of fake IDs, essentially running a one-man BMV,” said John E. Childress, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “While Watt was not the operator of the website, he had a far more critical role, utilizing equipment and skill to manufacture quality fake identifications and brazenly violate the law thousands of times over. I commend the IRS-CI and USPIS for their thorough investigative work leading to today’s outcome.”
