Eleven New Yorkers are headed to prison for their roles in an elaborate commercial driver’s-licenses-for-cash scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
The fraudsters were convicted for conspiracy to unlawfully produce commercial-class driver’s licenses in a scheme that involved DMV security personnel, an external test-taker, facilitators, runners and lookouts at five DMV facilities in the New York City area. Conspiring applicants paid between $1,800 and $2,500, in exchange for exam answers and assistance through the application process.
The fraudsters sometimes used pencils that contained miniature encoded test answers and Bluetooth headsets to relay test answers. Other times, applicants left the DMV office in the middle of the test, with the help of bribed security officers, and handed off tests to someone else to complete, according to the complaint obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Then, runners returned the tests for grading. The scheme ran between roughly April 2013 and September 2013.
School bus drivers, commercial movers and semi-trailer truck operators, among others, are required to have CDLs. Fraudulent official documents like drivers licenses are often used by terrorists to maintain their anonymity prior to attacks.
The fraudsters are Akmal Narzikulov, also known as “Soldier,” Dale Harper, Joachim Pierre Louis, Latoya Bourne, Marie Daniel, Luc Desmangles, Beayaeh Kamara, Jose Payano, Tanael Daniel, Inocente Rene Gonzales Martinz, and Firdavs Mamadaliev, according to court documents.
Some, like Desmangles, have been sentenced, while others are awaiting sentencing. Desmangles, a runner, was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.
Investigating the case required the help of five state and federal agencies in addition to the DOT IG — the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, New York City Police Department, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Investigations, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and the New York State Inspector General’s Office. Law enforcement agencies used remote observation and pole-mounted cameras to identify the fraudsters.
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