Buena Park: Councilman obtains fake driver’s license to avoid steep child support payments

Buena Park City Councilman Sangjin Miller Oh was ordered today to stand trial on charges of perjuring himself on DMV documents to avoid paying child support to his ex-wife.

Oh, 48, told investigators he paid someone $300 to obtain a fraudulent driver’s license, which he could use to register vehicles and hide assets, Deputy District Attorney John Christl alleged.

Oh used his “lunar birth date” and his confirmation name of Robert on some of the disputed documents, according to the prosecutor.

A confirmation name is given to Roman Catholics after the sacrament of confirmation is completed.

During today’s preliminary hearing, Orange County Superior court referee Michael Pear questioned whether Oh committed a crime when he used the allegedly phony driver’s license to sign the paperwork on vehicle registrations.

“I’m fairly confident there isn’t any case (law) on this issue, on whether a fraudulent license constitutes a false statement,” Pear said.

Nevertheless, Pear found there was enough evidence to go forward with a trial on five of six counts.

He dismissed the other count because it pertains to a document that appeared to have been signed by Oh in Riverside County. But Pear left open the possibility that prosecutors could refile that charge with more evidence.

After the hearing, Christl alleged that Oh told investigators that he found someone, through an ad in a local newspaper, who could obtain a phony driver’s license for $300.

Oh’s attorney, Steven Baric, declined comment. But during the hearing, he said, “I think the prosecution’s case is woefully weak.” Christl disagreed.

“We have him on tape saying, `I hired someone for $300  … I wanted to hide the assets from my wife,”’ Christl said. “Clearly, he’s deceitful. He’s admitted to perjury.”

Oh is accused of putting fraudulent information on Department of Motor Vehicles document between Sept. 23, 2004, and July 20, 2009, to avoid paying child support to his ex-wife by hiding his assets under a phony name.

Oh allegedly applied for a driver’s license under the alias Robert Oh and failed to disclose that he applied for a license under a different name.

Another time, Oh did not disclose that his license had been suspended, prosecutors allege.

On four other occasions, Oh allegedly used a fraudulently obtained license to register vehicles.