Beaufort County man, 19, faces 14 forgery charges tied to fake driver’s licenses

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WTOC) - The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division charged a Beaufort County man with 14 counts of forgery, the agency said Friday. Warrants allege James Patrick Thomas Jr., 19, obtained forged driver’s licenses to give to underage people.The chargesSLED charged Thomas on Wednesday with 14 counts of forgery with no dollar amount involved. The Clemson Police Department requested the SLED investigation.Thomas was booked into the Pickens County Detention Center. The 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute the case.What the warrants sayThe arrest warrants say that on Oct. 23, Thomas admitted to causing or procuring forged driver’s licenses to distribute to underage people.According to the warrants, Thomas admitted he purchased and received at least four packages of forged documents since December 2025. The warrants say each package was for at least 10 people, and each person received two duplicate fake licenses. That is a minimum of 20 licenses per package, accordin