The University of Florida student recently returned from a 2018 night out for drinks with his mates when he was found by university police with an id card fake — which he said he did not use that night.

The companion poured him wine, but he drank too much and took a nap in the normal area of ​​Rollins Hall, where the companion lived. He said a university police officer looked at his wallet and found his best fake ID. He was told he could receive an email from the academy and was “happy” anyway.

Two months later, his family received a letter from the Alachua County Court Clerk’s Office. Buying a fake id for less than $100 would end up costing him about $2,500 — most of it in attorney fees.

“I didn’t actually do anything but rest,” he said. “They were doing me a disservice anyway, letting me know that everything was fine. Then, at that point, they sinned against me.”

It’s just a story about a student who gets busted for making a fake id, a soul-changing experience at the school that instantly translates into massive legal fees.

Over the next four years, UF police have issued nearly four dozen criminal complaints to state examiners alleging that students used id card fakes, according to the UFJ School of Journalism and Communication reporting students’ examination of court records. Results vary, but in 45 cases, all charges were either dropped or assigned misconduct.

Most substitute students agreed, three substitute students were cleared of charges and three cases were not selected — two extraordinary subpoenas and one exception. Only two cases resulted in criminal convictions – two wrongdoings – one of which was suspended. Two cases have been taken out.

Of the 43 students featured in this report, 4 agreed to be assessed for anonymity. Four different students have been charged with id card fakes over the past two weeks.

Despite criminal objections from college police, the bench was later formally charged with lesser wrongdoing by examiners and eventually recorded a plead guilty to arraignment requiring him to pay $270 in legal fees and pay the community’s Noble causes donated $100, according to court records.

Of the 45 litigants, 35 agreed to the prosecution arrangement.

Gainesville criminal protection attorney Adam Stott said the understanding of the acknowledgment indictment was an agreement between the litigants and the express law firm. Investigators agree to absolve all charges as long as litigants complete a list of conditions within a specified time frame.

In a fake id case, that usually means paying $100 in prosecution costs and paying $100 for community nobility or completing 10 hours of local administration. The charges were acquitted after four months of acceptable conduct. In the failed case, 28 students agreed to this particular game plan. The other seven got less charitable arrangements, paid more or waited longer for the charges to be dropped.

In these cases, Stott said, acknowledging an arraignment provides students with two of the greatest advantages: recovery and discipline that doesn’t affect the rest of their lives.

The idea, he says, is to give newbies a chance to correct their mistakes.

“When you’re in a law enforcement frame, it’s hard to get out,” Stott said.

University Police Patrol Captain Kristy Sasser said the criminal charges in these cases usually meet the legal requirements for a legitimate crime. A wrongful act objection may apply if the date of birth on an officially approved legal driver’s license has changed. Legitimate criminal charges arise when the fake ID itself is considered deceptive, which often happens.

“We are stewards of the law,” Suther said. “We don’t make regulations.”