Thread: DMV workers charged in ID fraud case

OAKLAND
DMV workers charged in ID fraud case
4 were allegedly paid to process documents for illegal immigrants
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, August 5, 2005


Four employees of the state Department of Motor Vehicles office in Oakland have been charged in a scheme in which they accepted cash bribes in exchange for processing documents for illegal immigrants, authorities said Thursday.

Three employees appeared in U.S. District Court in Oakland on Thursday on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud for allegedly accepting individual bribes of up to $4,500 in a scheme in which more than 200 fraudulent drivers licenses and ID cards were issued.

A fourth defendant, an Oakland video-store owner, was charged with helping people bypass vehicle smog tests with the help of a DMV employee. Three other defendants were accused of being brokers or liaisons between the DMV workers and those who needed identification.

The charges, the latest of dozens of similar cases involving DMV workers in California and across the country, are the result of a 20-month investigation in which agents secretly followed employees, dug through one suspect's trash and spied on the busy Oakland DMV office at 5300 Claremont Ave. where all four DMV employees worked.

There, undercover FBI agents acting as clients bypassed the DMV's notoriously long lines with the help of brokers who directed them to specific windows where a bribed DMV worker was waiting to process them, authorities said.

Although fake Social Security numbers were used in some cases, DMV spokesman Steve Haskins acknowledged Thursday that at least a dozen people had their records compromised. All of them will receive new licenses with different IDs, and their licenses will be monitored for several years for any suspicious activity, he said.

The DMV, which has suspended the four employees with pay, has increased its internal security procedures to prevent future scams, Haskins said. DMV workers must undergo pre-employment background checks, but "dishonesty happens, " Haskins said. "There are temptations out there," he said. "Some people are very weak and allow themselves to be taken in."

DMV employees Brachelle Fifer, 43, Stephanie Davis, 37, and Leneka Pendergrass, 27, all of Oakland, appeared in court Thursday and were released pending further proceedings today. All three declined to comment.

A fourth DMV worker, Frances Aliganga, 53, of Fairfield and another defendant who allegedly served as a broker, Veronica Rivera, 53, of Daly City were arrested in June and later indicted. Aliganga, who earns $40,000 a year at the DMV, remains in custody; Rivera is free on $500,000 bond.

"As serious as they are, they are only allegations and they haven't been proven," said Rivera's attorney, Paul Wolf of Oakland.

From about November 2003 through June 2005, authorities said, Rivera recruited illegal immigrants and offered to sell them a license or ID card for $3,000 to $4,500 each.

Rivera allegedly provided fraudulently obtained -- but real -- Social Security numbers that her clients could use in their DMV applications. After accepting about half of the bribe in cash, Rivera arranged for her clients to meet with Aliganga, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Aliganga processed the clients' applications at her window at the DMV, provided them with temporary licenses and had valid licenses mailed to them, authorities said.

Federal prosecutors said Aliganga entered fake Social Security numbers for some clients and had licenses issued to clients who had not taken either a written or driving examination.

And in one case, an undercover FBI employee intentionally marked the wrong answer on the "overwhelming majority" of the questions on the written test. Aliganga "tossed the exam aside, barely (if at all) glancing at it," FBI Agent Jason Richards wrote in an affidavit.

In return for her services, Aliganga received from Rivera a share of the cash bribe that each client paid to Rivera, authorities said. According to the indictment, Aliganga and Rivera's scheme resulted in the issuance of more than 200 fraudulent licenses and ID cards.

Fifer accepted $100 in cash each time she helped one of Rivera's clients get a license, and Aliganga also paid Fifer as part of the scheme, authorities said.

Shahid Hamid, 45, the owner of Video Odyssey on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, allegedly found people who wanted to bypass the smog test or get a license illegally. DMV employee Davis processed the paperwork in exchange for $100 to $200 for each smog test and $500 for each license, authorities said. Reached at his store, Hamid declined to comment.

Keith Williams, 40, and Adrian Gomez Zepeda, 31, both of Oakland, also served as brokers, authorities said. Pendergrass was paid to process the applications or to bypass the smog test, authorities said.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 01&sc=1000

SUSPENDED WITH PAY??????

RR

This happens all the time in Virginia. Just recently several DMV workers, all with hispanic last names were charged with giving licenses to illegals. I'm sure nothing will happen to them since they are a protected minority