20 People Convicted And Sentenced In Fraudulent Driver's License Scheme
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A New Jersey man has been sentenced to five years in prison for paying bribes to get a phony license to help him commit other financial crimes.
The case was part of "Operation Blind Spot", a phony license scam of staggering proportions, and all 20 people charged have now been convicted and sentenced.
Federal prosecutor Richard Zack says the scheme began with corrupt PennDot driver's license examiners.
"There were individuals at PennDot who were willing to take bribes to issue licenses. Once that was discovered, the people that ran the driver's schools or were the brokers would send people from New York, New Jersey, from Delaware, to Pennsylvania. They used fake addresses to get licenses," said Zack.
Thousands of fraudulent licenses were issued, to illegal aliens, foreign nationals, people looking for ID to commit financial crimes, and other criminals, including a suspected murderer. And Zack says the implications of such crimes are staggering and scary and the actual impact of this scheme may never be known.
Reported By Tony Hanson, KYW Newsradio
