Five foreign nationals charged with identity fraud in Bluffton

by Christopher Teuton

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTOC) - [UPDATE 3:18 p.m. 09/26/2025] SLED has released a press release and warrants for the five people arrested yesterday in Beaufort County.

According to SLED, all five are foreign nationals who were arrested for using fraudulent Social Security Numbers in order to obtain employment at O’Hara Outdoors in Bluffton, South Carolina.

All five men - Francisco Ramirez Santiago (43), Pablo Ramirez Santiago (46), Arelio Saul Galicia De Leon (53), Erick Alfons Clauel Gonzalez (28), and Jose Moreno Romero (56) - were booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center.

SLED states the case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

There is no mention of ICE in the warrants or the attached press release, despite earlier reports.

[UPDATE 5:24 p.m. 09/25/2025] Five people have been arrested by SLED and booked into the Beaufort County Jail today, WTOC has learned.

All five of these people - Jose Moreno Romero, Erick Alfons Clavel Gonzalez, Francisco Ramirez Santiago, Pablo Ramirez Santiago, and Arelio Saul Galicia De Leon - are charged with the same offense.

That offense is “identity fraud to obtain employment or avoid detection by law enforcement,” according to booking records.

WTOC is still working to confirm officially whether or not these arrests are connected to the ICE operation in Beaufort County earlier today.

[ORIGINAL STORY] An operation was carried out this morning by ICE and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) in Bluffton, SC, WTOC has learned.

After being alerted by a viewer tip about ICE activity in the area, WTOC reached out to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, who confirmed an operation occurred.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said that it was a joint SLED/ICE operation and that the Sheriff’s Office only provided assistance, such as managing traffic around the area.

WTOC is reaching out to additional law enforcement divisions (including SLED) and is working to learn more about today’s ICE operation in Bluffton.