New York DMV Employees Charged in CDL Fraud Scheme
Participant Allegedly Wore Disguises to Take Tests for Others
Key Takeaways:
- Nassau County prosecutors charged seven people, including three former New York DMV employees, in a 51-count indictment alleging a scheme to illegally obtain commercial driver licenses for unqualified applicants.
- Investigators said the ring manipulated CDL exams from March to September 2023, with surveillance video showing an employee taking tests in disguises for multiple applicants, one of whom later operated sanitation trucks.
- All cases are pending in Nassau County Criminal Court, with defendants scheduled to appear in December as prosecutors pursue penalties of up to 7 years in prison.
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First in a series.
Government officials in New York are in the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles and others for their alleged roles in a criminal ring that worked to provide commercial driver licenses to unqualified individuals.
Officials Detail Charges in CDL Fraud Case
In October, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly and New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang announced a 51-count indictment against seven people, including two CDL applicants employed by a local town and three DMV workers. Each defendant faces between 28 months and 7 years in prison if convicted.
Investigation Uncovers CDL Test Impersonation Ring
“A ring of DMV employees who, working together, allegedly manipulated the commercial driver’s license exam process, allowing no-show applicants to cheat the system and skip their tests — giving them CDL permits that they did not earn and were not qualified to hold,” Donnelly said. “These defendants demonstrated that for the right price they would sell out their integrity and the safety of others. That breakdown posed a risk to us all, and with the assistance of our partners at the New York State Inspector General’s Office, we uncovered this scheme and put an end to it.”
(NassauCountyDA via YouTube)
Donnelly added, “At least one applicant, a Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department employee, was [allegedly] issued a full CDL license which he used to operate recycling trucks in our neighborhoods. Safely driving large trucks on our roads requires understanding the rules. A single second hesitation or misjudgment could spell catastrophe.”
The scheme was uncovered when a DMV supervisor in Long Island alerted the Inspector General’s office to allegations that employees in the office were processing CDL permit applications for individuals who were not taking the required tests.
Seven Defendants Face Felony and Misdemeanor Charges
Former DMV supervisor Kanaisha Middleton, 33; her sister Jamie Middleton, 35; and DMV staffers Tawanna Whitfield, 36, and Satoya Mitchell, 35, were charged with:
- Impairing the integrity of a government licensing examination and tampering with public records in the first degree. (Both D felonies, each with a penalty for non-violent offenses from 1 to 7 years in state prison and up to a $5,000 fine.)
- Corrupting the government in the fourth degree and falsifying business records in the first degree. (Both are E felonies, each carrying a penalty of 1 to 3 years of state imprisonment.)
- Falsifying business records in the second degree (misdemeanor).
CDL permit applicants James Nurse, 42, a former sanitation driver; Omesh Mohan, 42; and Rene Sarduy, 44, were indicted for alleged tampering with public records and falsifying business records, both in the first degree.
(Nassau County District Attorney's Office)
Surveillance Video Shows Disguises Used in Exam Cheating
During an investigation that stretched from March to September 2023, surveillance video collected on six occasions allegedly captured Jamie Middleton approaching DMV employees dressed in various disguises purporting to be different CDL and Class D permit applicants seeking to take the exams. She allegedly took nine CDL exams, passing the test eight times for seven applicants. Six of those applicants never received full CDLs.
Middleton allegedly wore disguises and dressed in baggy clothing and construction jackets when she approached DMV employees to gain access to the license testing room.
Prosecutors accused Whitfield and Mitchell of participating in the ruse “despite Middleton’s appearance not matching the identification and DMV records for the applicants for whom she was posing.”
(Nassau County District Attorney’s Office)
Donnelly claimed that Middleton wore “a fake mustache, beard, glasses, mask — almost like a spy in an espionage thriller” so her appearance would match that of a male applicant. “You can clearly see in these surveillance stills, Middleton’s long painted fingernails, her phony facial hair. These disguises were all about selling this scheme for the cameras and to the other honest DMV employees who weren’t in on it.”
On May 23, 2023, Middleton allegedly took exams less than five minutes apart wearing the same clothing for defendants Sarduy, a Town of Hempstead highway department employee, and Mohan.
“Mohan and Sarduy allegedly both went to different DMV locations in Springfield Gardens and Bethpage in the following days to provide their paperwork and obtain their interim permits,” according to the district attorney’s office.
(Nassau County District Attorney's Office)
Middleton also allegedly took the exam for Nurse, a Hempstead sanitation employee, who received an interim permit in August 2023. Nurse was issued a full CDL license one month later. Nurse is accused of illegally obtaining a CDL.
All cases are pending in Nassau County Criminal Court in Mineola. The defendants were all scheduled to appear before a judge on various dates in December, D.A. spokesperson Nicole Turso told Transport Topics.
New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said the former DMV employees purportedly “sold out their oaths of office” in deliberate, coordinated crimes.
This is the first in a series of articles highlighting enforcement efforts to prosecute fraud in issuance of commercial driver licenses.
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