Mark A. Simon

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Mark A. Simon, 34, of Toledo, was charged in February 2018 with production of false identification documents, transfer of false identification documents and possession of equipment used to produce them. The release, citing an affidavit filed at the charging stage, says investigators were first contacted by a pub employee about fake IDs collected at the bar, and that agents identified the purported seller by the Reddit username TedDanzigSr, who posted on a daily basis on subjects related to fake IDs. Agents ordered fake IDs from that account and were asked to pay in bitcoin. It also says, per the same affidavit, that before posting on Reddit, the TedDanzigSr account had sold fake IDs on the dark web marketplace Silk Road, and that investigators determined the account's true identity was Simon. Investigators seized coins, bars, cash, computers and approximately $4.7 million in bitcoin. A March 2018 indictment charged four people from the Toledo area and alleged that the defendants created and transferred documents that appeared to be driver's licenses and identification cards issued by Ohio, Michigan and Utah between June 2013 and February 2018. The Toledo Blade reported that Simon pleaded guilty in June 2019 and admitted to knowingly transferring false identification documents and to a newly filed charge of conspiracy to launder money. It reported that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Helmick sentenced him on October 3, 2019, to two years in federal prison. The Blade reported that a prosecutor described the operation as one of the nation's largest fake ID rings, run using Reddit and Bitcoin, and that Simon was selling fake licenses and identification cards through Reddit under the user name TedDanzigSr. The Blade reported that prosecutors had recommended a sentence within a guideline range of 46 to 57 months. Simon's defense attorney said he accepted responsibility and showed remorse. The Vindicator reported in July 2021 that Simon had been sentenced to 24 months and that the forfeited bitcoin sold for $19.22 million, described in the U.S. Attorney's release as the largest net forfeiture in the district's history.