Ten students were arrested and charged between April 24 and May 5 in a University Police investigation of the manufacture and possession of fake driver’s licenses, UP officials said.

The investigation began April 8 when UP arrested a student in connection with having a fake ID. Two weeks later another student was arrested in central Illinois and charged with possessing a fake ID, said Lt. Glenn Turner.

Turner said these two students told police the names of other NU students who had recently made fake IDs. UP often encounters students with fake IDs and confiscates them without filing charges, Turner said. But when UP becomes aware that IDs are being manufactured or sold on campus, it must take further action.

“We had to really check it out this time,” Turner said. “We had to arrest them so we could catch the manufacturer.”

At the end of April, UP began questioning students they believed were involved in the on-campus manufacture and sale of fake IDs. The investigation revealed that some students bought the IDs from Weinberg sophomore Timothy Carlton, 20, who received them from an acquaintance in Chico, Calif., Turner said. Turner declined to say how many IDs Carlton sold.

Turner said Carlton was the only student charged with a felony because he sold more IDs than the other students.

But in a plea bargain Thursday, Carlton pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. He was sentenced to 18 months of court supervision and 100 hours of community service. Carlton declined to comment Thursday night.

Three other students also were charged with misdemeanor manufacturing of false driver’s licenses and seven students were charged with misdemeanor possession of fraudulent identification, Turner said. The students are scheduled to appear at Circuit Court in Skokie on May 12 and June 14. All students involved also were referred to NU’s Office of Student Affairs.

Several of those who were arrested said they thought the police overreacted by arresting them because so many students have fake IDs.

“A fraudulent ID card is a necessity in college life, and they are making such a big deal about it,” said Steve Juh, 20, a McCormick freshman who was charged with a misdemeanor possession of fraudulent identification.

Juh said he did not know how UP got his name, but he said he assumed it came up through an investigation to get to the manufacturer. He said he felt like a scapegoat.

“The moral of the story is if you deny it, you walk away clean,” Juh said. “The good guy always loses.”

Under Illinois state law, the students could have been charged with a felony, but UP officials convinced the state’s attorney to file misdemeanor charges, Turner said.

“The law is intended for people using IDs to open bad checking accounts, which is a more devious thing to do than to just buy a beer,” he said. “So if the state’s attorney really wanted to, he could nail them with a felony. With a misdemeanor it’s something that they can have put behind them.”

Turner said that probably not all of the students with the recently manufactured IDs have been caught. UP will warn local bars about the fake driver’s licenses, which look like licenses from California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia and Maine.

Turner said he expects up to four more students who originally denied involvement to be charged during the next few days.

“We will go back to the people who were lying because now we can prove it from the total investigation,” he said.

Turner said most students were cooperative during the investigation.

“We’re not looking to burn anybody for having a fake ID card,” Turner said. “I would imagine that any student who wants to drink has one.”

Also charged with misdemeanor manufacture or possession of fraudulent identification were: Weinberg junior Cindy Joung, 20; McCormick junior Amyn Meherally, 20; and Music sophomore Jeffrey White, 20. Also charged with misdemeanor possession of fraudulent identification were Weinberg freshman Emily Africano, 19; Weinberg sophomore Justin Kumar, 20; Weinberg sophomore Kate Rawsthorne, 19; Weinberg freshman Josh Sager, 19 and Speech freshman Scott Wheeler, 18.