It sounds like they do have a passport, but with a goofy signature because SovCit reasons, and they were trying to verify the signature using other goofy documents.
Yeah, in many places you can file damn near anything you want at the County Clerk's office, especially if it purports to have anything at all to do with land ownership. They record things, but unfortunately for the SovCit, they do not actually confer legitimacy.
I would just about bet that as the scammers who fleece the SovCits realized their market included certain people who somehow could afford to travel overseas, they needed something beyond the fake passports and the information about the n number of stars on passport CARDS for land crossings to CA and MX. I bet you can buy all sorts of information about how to get a real passport without selling yourself back to the "government".
However, I have been on 3 flights in the past 2 years which were international (albeit inter-european) where I wasn't required to show my ID even once.
I once bought beer with my friends debit card. This was back when you'd sign the receipt instead of doing NFC or entering your pin code. I signed it "Jesus Kristus".