After an investigation, a New York District Attorney and other state and federal prosecutors found a driving school guilty of bribing DMV examiners to obtain licenses for people without having to successfully test for them.
The T&E Driving School, located in Queens, charged between $1,600 and $2,000 to license recipients, some of whom were illegal immigrants. This prompted their indictment for “impairing the integrity of a government licensing examination.” A total of 14 defendants have been indicted.
According to CBS News, “Detectives say the T&E Driving School on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens charged people $1,600 to $2,000 each to falsify driving exams. Investigators say the school’s owner worked with three DMV examiners and a substitute driver who posed as other people to take tests.”
“The consequences of these actions are grave,” Staten Island DA Michael McMahon said. “Countless individuals are now driving on our roads without ever having demonstrated the basic skills necessary to do so safely.”
The DHS investigated the school alongside state prosecutors. George Ioannidis, a special agent leading Homeland Security Investigations in New York, made a statement on the investigation, providing other details connected to the scheme.
“Our investigation found that T&E Driving School blatantly flouted the laws and procedures that are necessary to ensure the public safety on the road,” he said. “As alleged T&E utilized social media and strategic advertising to Target exploited members of the Chinese community and guaranteed individual driver’s licenses regardless of their immigration status, language, and even their ability to operate a vehicle.”
The number of people who received illicit licenses is unknown. McMahon noted that the indictments are just the “tip of the iceberg,” and that examiners typically issue 1,500 licenses a year.
