Attorney General Paula T. Dow, Criminal Justice Director Stephen J Taylor and Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez announced indictments charging 40 people - including six former MVC clerks, 21 customers, and 13 brokers and other intermediaries - with participating in criminal rings that illegally sold New Jersey digital driver’s licenses to unauthorized persons at five local motor vehicle agencies.
According to Director Taylor, the Division of Criminal Justice obtained six state grand jury indictments charging all 40 defendants with conspiracy, official misconduct and computer criminal activity, all in the second degree, and third-degree tampering with public records or information Many defendants were also charged with second-degree bribery, and most of the clerks, brokers and other intermediaries face multiple counts of each charge. The second-degree charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and the clerks would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years without parole under New Jersey’s anti-corruption laws.
The defendants allegedly conspired in schemes in which brokers and MVC clerks sold New Jersey digital driver’s licenses to customers who did not have the required six points of identification. In some cases, the customers, who are foreign nationals, did not qualify for a license because they were in the United States illegally. In other cases, they lacked sufficient documentation. The customers paid between $2,500 and $7,000 for a driver’s license or license renewal, and the MVC clerks and brokers split the proceeds of the illicit sales.
The indictments were returned in November but sealed until yesterday because arrest warrants were pending against defendants. The indictments stem from cooperative investigations by the Division of Criminal Justice, Motor Vehicle Commission and New Jersey State Police. The cases involve MVC clerks at the Lodi, East Orange, Edison, Jersey City and North Bergen motor vehicle agencies. In the Edison case, a clerk pleaded guilty prior to being indicted.
“We have zero tolerance for corrupt motor vehicle clerks, who can undermine public safety through their access to personal information and their ability to issue driver’s licenses,” said Attorney General Dow. “We know criminals seek black-market driver’s licenses to commit identity theft and fraud, and on 9/11, the terrorists used licenses from other states to help them carry out their deadly plots. We will continue to work with the Motor Vehicle Commission and New Jersey State Police to maintain maximum vigilance and aggressively prosecute these cases.”
“We want to send a forceful deterrent message to those who broker illegal sales of driver’s licenses and to clerks who might be motivated by greed to sell out the trust placed in them. They will be subject to lengthy prison terms,” said Director Taylor. “We urge the public to report criminals involved in the fraudulent identification market, who typically exploit the immigrant community, ripping off individuals seeking licenses and subjecting them to serious criminal charges.”
“The NJ MVC and our team of investigators believe the strict policies and procedures we have developed are working to help weed out fraud and abuse,” said Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez. “Our goal is to ensure that we issue IDs only to those individuals that are who they say they are; there is only one record of that person in our system; and that this decision is based on current, valid and verified documents.”
“These charges prove that document fraud in New Jersey leads to hard time rather than easy money for the clerks and brokers involved in this crime. The fact that some people will pay thousands of dollars to illegally get a driver’s license shows how important this document is, and how far we must go to protect its integrity,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “Fraudulent identification opens the door to terrorists and other criminals who intend to harm our citizens,” he added.
In the next few weeks, the MVC will begin the first phase of the roll-out of their Facial Recognition program with a briefing to representatives of the New Jersey law enforcement community. The program will use biometric technology to “scrub” the 17 million digital images in the NJ MVC database to detect licenses that have been obtained with fraudulent identities. The briefing will include presentations from investigators from other states where Facial Recognition programs have been successfully initiated or completed. The briefing will provide details on how these programs have been implemented and improved motor vehicle agency security as well as how they have benefited federal, state and local law enforcement.
The indicted defendants are charged in connection with a total of 40 specific instances when driver’s licenses were allegedly issued to individuals without the required six points of identification. However, the investigation revealed that the rings brokered the illicit sales of numerous other licenses. A number of cases against customers of the rings were resolved prior to indictment.
Each case involved a “broker” or brokers who would spread the word that for a price of several thousand dollars they would arrange for the customer to obtain a digital driver’s license or have a driver’s license renewed without the required six points of identification. In some instances, the brokers relied on “runners” to bring them customers. The brokers, in turn, worked with the conspiring MVC clerks to have the licenses issued, sometimes dealing with the clerks through a “middleman.” For example, the indictment involving the East Orange motor vehicle agency charges a clerk, two middlemen who were formerly MVC clerks, two brokers and five runners.
The broker or another intermediary would typically fill out the license application or renewal application form for the customer, so the customer would simply sign it. The broker would usually accompany the customer to the motor vehicle agency and provide specific instructions regarding approaching the conspiring clerk. The clerk would issue the license and falsely note in MVC records that the customer had provided sufficient primary and secondary documents to satisfy the six-point verification. In the Lodi case, the clerk allegedly used Social Security numbers stolen from an MVC database and fabricated information that the customers had prior Florida driver’s licenses. The broker or a runner would collect the agreed upon price from the customer, and the broker would coordinate the cash payments to the clerks and others who shared in the illegal proceeds.
The investigations were conducted by members of the Division of Criminal Justice MVC Unit, within the Specialized Crimes Bureau; the Motor Vehicle Commission’s Division of Security, Investigation and Internal Audit; and the New Jersey State Police Auto Unit Document Fraud Squad.
On March 30, 2010, Lorena J. Escobar, aka Lorena J. Uruena, 31, of South Bound Brook, a former MVC clerk at the Edison motor vehicle agency, pleaded guilty to an accusation charging her with second-degree criminal computer activity before Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in Morris County. The state will recommend that she be sentenced to three years in state prison.
The following defendants were charged in the indictments related to the alleged criminal license brokering rings involving clerks at the five motor vehicle agencies:
LODI MOTOR VEHICLE AGENCY
MVC ClerkAnne Marie Manfredonia, 43, of Little Ferry
BrokerHildeberto Salinas, 43, of Carlstadt
Customers1. Abraham Chali, aka Carlos Jacobo, 26, of Cliffside Park2. Miguel G. Sacoto, 35, of Jersey City3. Melvin Lita, aka Arben Lita, 33, of Fair Lawn4. (Juan) Pablo Gavilanez, 26, of Irvington5. Jose Pelaez, 26, of Bloomfield6. Gustavo Pamavilla, 22, of Irvington7. Roberto Yumbla, 27, of Irvington8. Ana Altamirano, 39, of Newark9. Ariolfo Altamirano, 42, of Newark10. Luz Alvarez, 32, of Hackensack11. Omar Avila, 33, of Newark12. Claudio Angamarca, 26, of Newark13. Aurelio Aju-Chitic, 31, of Fairview14. Sandra Avendano-Marin, 26, South Hackensack
EAST ORANGE MOTOR VEHICLE AGENCY
Indictment #1
MVC ClerkLaquanda Murray, 28, of Newark
MiddlemenJason P. Thomas, 28, of Irvington, a former MVC clerk
Tyrone Q. Canada, 26, of Hillside, a former MVC clerk
BrokersMartin A. Martinez, 53, of Newark. In a separate case, Martinez was indicted on Nov. 10 on first-degree charges of conspiracy and money laundering as a result of an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice into an alleged conspiracy to defraud the federally funded Women, Infants and Children nutrition program of more than $1 million using fraudulent vouchers.
Antonio Vasquez, 40, of Hillside
Runners1. Virginia Martinez, 41, of Somerville2. Guillermo “Willie” Prieto, 50, of North Bergen3. Rogerio DaSilva, 36, of Cliffside
4. Gustavo Valencia, 68, of Morris Township5. Domingos Bonela, 48, of Kenilworth
Indictment # 2
MVC ClerkRashaan A. Smith, 31, of Irvington
MiddlemenJason P. Thomas (also charged in East Orange Indictment #1 above)
Tyrone Q. Canada (also charged in East Orange Indictment #1 above)
EDISON MOTOR VEHICLE AGENCY
Brokers
Gustavo Valencia, 68, of Morris Township (also charged in East Orange Indictment #1 above)
Martha Jalil, 54, of DoverRicardo Jalil, 63, of Dover (Martha’s husband)
Customers1. Delmis Urquia, 43, of Hackettstown
2. Fredy H. Quiroga-Cobos, 34, of Dover3. Jaime E. Espinoza, 38, of Dover4. Constantino Grandados-Hernandez, 41, of Dover5. Julio C. Rios-Elejalde, 33, of Wharton
6. Carlos R. Ramirez-Yepes, 52, of Morristown
JERSEY CITY MOTOR VEHICLE AGENCY
MVC ClerksSonia Noel, 48, of Union CityMelody Noel, 26, of Union City (Sonia’s daughter)
BrokerPeter Loveras, 32, of East Rutherford
CustomerHernan Chica, 53, of Hackensack
NORTH BERGEN MOTOR VEHICLE AGENCY
ClerkCristian J. Toledo, 33, of North Bergen
The cases were presented to the grand juries by Deputy Attorneys General Paul Salvatoriello (Lodi and Edison), Marysol Rosero (East Orange) and Frank Brady Jr. (Jersey City and North Bergen).
The investigations were conducted for the Division of Criminal Justice by Sgt. Chris Anagnostis, Detective Nicholas Olenick, Detective Christian Harden, Detective Shawn Gorlin, State Investigator Ruben Contreras, and the assigned deputy attorneys general, under the supervision of Lt. Edgar Hess; Supervising Deputy Attorney General Jacqueline Smith, Deputy Chief of the Specialized Crimes Bureau; Supervising Deputy Attorney General Andrew Butchko, Acting Chief of the Specialized Crimes Bureau; and Assistant Attorney General Riza Dagli, Deputy Director of the Division of Criminal Justice.
The investigations were conducted for the Motor Vehicle Commission by Supervising Investigator Michael Boehm, Investigators Richard Stryker, Johannes Segboer, Evelyn Trapasso, John Cerqueira and William Torowicz, Administrative Analyst Susan Arnao, and Compliance Officers Margaret Palen and Maureen Parant, under the supervision of Supervising Administrative Analyst Gautam Mankad, Supervising Investigators Gary Nucera and Charles Rehberger, Chief of Investigations James Clifford, and Director of Security, Investigations and Internal Audit Thomas Flarity.
The investigations were conducted for the New Jersey State Police by Detective Jeovanny Rodriguez, Detective Enrique Bryan and Trooper Jorge Recalde, under the supervision of Lt. Anthony J. Martin Jr., supervisor of the New Jersey State Police Auto Unit, and Detective Sgt. 1st Class John M. Soulias.
Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $15,000. Each MVC clerk charged in the indictments would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison without possibility of parole upon conviction under New Jersey’s statutory penalty enhancements for official misconduct.
The indictments are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The indictments were handed up in Superior Court in Mercer County. The cases were assigned to the following counties: Lodi to Bergen County, East Orange to Essex County, Edison to Morris County, and Jersey City and North Bergen to Hudson County. Copies of the indictments are linked to this release at www.njpublicsafety.com
In October, the NJ MVC received the National Security Excellence Award from the national Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License for the state’s next generation, security-enhanced digital driver’s license that was introduced in May of this year. The coalition also cited the MVC’s identity verification processes, document fraud training and investigations, and current plans for beginning a facial recognition scrub as other reasons for the award.
Attorney General Dow and Director Taylor noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free tipline 1-866-TIPS-4CJ for the public to report corruption, financial crime and other illegal activities. The public can also log on to the Division of Criminal Justice webpage at www.njdcj.org to report suspected wrongdoing. All information received through the Division of Criminal Justice tipline or webpage will remain confidential.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
