Federal prosecutors in New Orleans have charged two former employees of the Department of Transportation, a restaurant owner and three third-party examiners in an alleged scheme to issue commercial driver’s licenses to people without appropriate qualifications, GoCDL.us informs.
According to a 25-page indictment filed on August 28 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the six men, between August 2020 and February 2024, extorted and received bribes in exchange for issuing commercial driver’s licenses to individuals who had not undergone “any of the legally required training or testing.”
The criminal scheme included the creation of fake assessment sheets that indicated that the CDL driver’s license exam had been passed and that the examinee had received a passing grade.
Also, allegedly, false information about exam results was entered into the electronic database of the State of Louisiana – Commercial Skills Test Information Management System.
Charges have been filed against former employees of the Louisiana Department of Transportation, Jenai Davis and Shakira Millien, who took theoretical exams for applicants in exchange for payments from Mahmoud Alhattab, the owner of a local restaurant.
Alkhattab is accused of receiving money from people who want to illegally obtain a CDL, bypassing the qualification procedure, which includes testing theoretical knowledge, practical skills and driving training.
In just one episode in the indictment an unidentified person allegedly paid the restaurateur $6,500 in cash “to begin the process of fraudulently obtaining a CDL” in December of 2023.
In the indictment:
- Burns, Davis and Roberts are each charged with one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
- Alhattab and Parsons are each charged with two counts of honest services wire fraud.
- Burns, Davis and Roberts are each charged with one count of honest services wire fraud.
- Alhattab, Millien and Parsons are each charged with four counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
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