A Bangladeshi man was charged in the United States for operating illegal online marketplaces that sold digital templates of false identity documents, including passports, social security cards, and Montana driver’s licences, authorities said.29-year-old Zahid Hasan of Dhaka faces a nine-count federal indictment unsealed in the District of Montana. He is charged with six counts of transferring false identification documents, two counts of false use of a passport, and one count of social security fraud. If convicted, Hasan could face up to 15 years in prison for each of the counts related to false identification and passport use, and up to 5 years for the social security fraud charge. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release, US Attorney Kurt Alme said.According to the indictment, Hasan operated two online businesses, “TechTreek” and “EGiftCardStoreBD,” from at least 2021 through 2025. These websites sold and transferred digital versions of false government-issued identity documents. The false documents were allegedly used to open fraudulent online accounts at banks, social media platforms, online payment services, and digital currency sites. Customers could pay using virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin. A US passport template sold for $12, a social security card for $9.37, and a Montana driver’s licence for $14.05. Over the span of four years, Hasan is alleged to have received more than $2.9 million from over 1,400 customers worldwide.As part of the investigation, the US authorities seized three of Hasan’s website domains: www.techtreek.com, www.egiftcardstorebd.com, and www.idtempl.com. Visitors to these sites now see a message stating the sites are under government control.Assistant US Attorney Benjamin Hargrove is prosecuting the case. The FBI announced the charges on X: “Yesterday, a Bangladeshi national was indicted for operating illegal online marketplaces that sold digital templates for false identity documents like U.S. passports and social security cards.”
