Most employers consider conducting motor vehicle driving records as background checks for their preemployment screening program. Trucking and transpiration companies must maintain Department of Transportation or DOT compliance standards by ordering MVRs on their drivers at least once every twelve months. So the DMV for employers is a busy place.
So it comes as a bit of a jolt when it is reported on the California Department of Motor Vehicle Site that four employees of the California Department of Motor Vehicles were arrested eon multiple counts of fraudulently processing driver licenses and effecting a title-washing scheme that involved several vehicles, the department announced today.
According to the California DMV Website…
“Today’s operation incorporated four separate internal affairs cases involving employee misconduct, two of which involves the criminal investigation of stolen/embezzled high-end vehicles, and the use of fraudulent DMV forms submitted to the DMV in order to further perpetuate the fraudulent activity. The other two cases pertain to the fraudulent issuance of California Driver Licenses, identity theft and illegal use of legal presence documents.
The employees allegedly worked to secure and perpetuate the distribution of fraudulently issued DMV vehicle records, such as a Certificate of Titles to further their criminal subleasing enterprise.
During the investigation, it was determined that the employees, allegedly conspired with a middleman to illegally issue driver licenses. The five co-conspirators would charge $350 to $6,000 to process the applications fraudulently.
DMV Internal Affairs, the CHP and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Division will continue to follow-up on all leads pertaining to this investigation.
In a separate case, Gonzalo Garcia, 40, a License Registration Examiner at DMV’s Hollywood/Cole office, was arrested on four felony counts each for alleged illegal access of DMV computers and falsification of public records. He is being held on $100,000 bail.
Charges:
The four employees are being charged with 182.1 PC (Conspiracy); 487 PC (Grand Theft); 502 (c) (1) PC (Illegal Computer Access); 68 PC (Bribery); 114 PC (Use of false documents to conceal resident status), and were booked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Century and Temple Stations. Each is being held on $50,000 bail. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of $5,000 per count and up to four years in prison.”
I suppose it is doubtful while the crew was allegedly rigging license plates and driving records, the overall effect was minimal on preemployment background checks. However, there may be some identify theft issues as the four charged with the crimes were reported to have falsified information for driving records as well as license plates for stolen cars. Nice. We do feel relieved that California DMV Internal Affairs Unit in conjunction with the Highway Patrol conducted a successful sting and surveillance operation that may well have put an end to this business. The four were reported to have charged anywhere from $350 to $6,000 to process the falsified applications. Setting up shop within the DMV. Apparently, there may be other conspirators as the CHP and DMV Internal Affairs are tracking down additional leads.
So, in all, they created documents that had false information to legitimize stolen and to illegally issue driver’s licenses. Ambitious. But criminal. Perhaps in their next career cycle the foursome will be actually making license plates rather than issuing the documents for them.
