KILGORE, OH -- A Carroll County man is in federal custody accused of making fake identification cards to help get people into the country illegally.

Anthony Fernwalt of Kilgore, Ohio, which is just across the Jefferson County line, has been in the news before as a religious visionary who's claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary.

FBI Agents and Carroll County Sheriff's Deputies swarmed down on Fernwalt's home near Post and Branch Road Tuesday morning. When neighbors saw the federal agents on the ground and the helicopters in the air, they wondered what was going on.

"What do you have Bin Laden here or something?" asked Al Butz, who owns a cow pasture nearby.

It wasn't bin Laden they were looking for.

"We went back, regrouped and called the sheriff's department," says Butz. "They told us it was no big deal, they were just having trouble with Fernwalt."

Fernwalt had been charged with gun violations in the past. But the latest charges stem from evidence federal authorities say shows Fernwalt was providing false identifications to help get illegals into the United States.

Federal agents won't say very much on the record, but in an exclusive telephone interview with News 9's Nicole Leasure, FBI agent Mitchell Marrone explained the charges.

"The allegations are that Mr. Fernwalt possessed documents which were false for the purpose of obtaining entry to the U.S." Marrone says.

Fernwalt once claimed to have received messages from the Virgin Mary and was said to be passing out holy water from his property in Kilgore.

"They had a religious following here about four years ago," says neighbor Al Butz. "They seemed to be thriving."

Officials tell NEWS 9 the incidents are not related.

Fernwalt is undergoing psychiatric evaluations to see if he's mentally fit to stand trial.

The FBI will not confirm if they believe the arrest is related to possible terrorist activity in the United States.

They also will not say how many people Fernwalt helped get into the United States.