Two Sacramento DMV workers are facing serious charges in federal court after allegedly handing out commercial driver’s licenses to people who did not pass or in some cases did not even take the written or on-the-road exams.
DMV Workers Accused Of Bribery, Identity Fraud
Thirty-eight year old Kari Scattaglia and 51 year old Lisa Terraciano have been charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and identity fraud as well as with unauthorized use of a computer. Court documents indicate that other DMV employees may have also been involved in the scheme, which is believed to have lasted from April 2014 until now.
Scheme Detected With Help From Undercover Federal Agents
The charges were brought against Scandaglia and Terracino following an undercover investigation during which federal agents posing as CDL students reportedly worked out a deal with two truck driving schools that would allow them to obtain their licenses without actually passing the tests. The truck driving schools were not named in court documents.
Numerous truckers were allegedly able to obtain CDLs without even taking the required tests because of the fraud.
Court documents say that the women and other co-conspirators accrued no less than $18,600 from the scheme.
According to court documents, the truck driving schools had an arrangement with the DMV employees. These employees would allegedly access the DMV computer systems and give the would-be-truck drivers a passing score.
If convicted Scattaglia and Lisa Terraciano could face up to five years in prison.