That's something which has always bothered me; what's been in it for Hector? What's his personal stake?
That's a big unanswered question. Same for Beckett. Three possibilities:
1. Byuu fooled Martin and Martin thinks he's really dead. Martin, in his sorrow, told some stories (such as talking to the police personally) which we're pretty certain are lies but his pride and/or certainty in social justice won't let him admit were fabricated.
2. Martin knew Byuu was going to pseudocide from the beginning and agreed to play along. Maybe he realizes by now that this is making him look like a fool, but he's too proud to turn around now; maybe he's still totally on board.
3. Byuu fooled Martin initially, and Martin now knows he's been played, but he's too proud to admit it yet.
None of these are totally convincing, particularly since Martin doesn't seem like a complete idiot who would let his pride get the best of him, but if Byuu is not dead then one of these is happening.
With Beckett it's even a bit weirder since he was merely a former employer of Ginder, not a friend, and yet he let things get taken so far that the USA Today article happened - with his name attached to it. When Ginder resurfaces, his record of foolishness will be even more permanent than Martin's. That's what makes me think that maybe the "Byuu fooled Martin/Beckett" hypothesis is what's happening here - maybe Ginder is some sort of master ruse cruiser who has, or at least had, Martin and Beckett convinced he actually an heroed.
Went to go see if you were right, and your right, it's literally the same image with an effect over it. Look at his right shoulder to be specific and look at how the shadow remains the same.
If this is an argument that the passport photo is a fake, it's not a good one. You can get passport photos at pretty much any drug store, department store, office supply store, etc. that has a photo developing/printing area, and they give you the photos they took directly, already at the desirable size. It's then your job to mail them to the government to get your passport made, and the photo people will usually give you more than you need (I think you need to mail in two pictures but it's been long enough that I don't remember) in case you also need some for applying for visas or whatever other purpose.
I personally am willing to buy that the passport is real. It's not hard for a US citizen to get a passport, and I don't think the supposed issues with the photo are enough to disqualify it unless the person whose job it is to take in the photo is really anal.