CDL examiner pleads guilty to fraud

Aug. 14, 2005
A former driver’s license examiner for the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has pleaded guilty to facilitating the unlawful sale of Colorado driver licenses

A former driver’s license examiner for the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has pleaded guilty to facilitating the unlawful sale of Colorado driver licenses, including commercial driver licenses (CDLs), to illegal aliens, according to information from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the US Transportation Department.

Virginia Villegas is scheduled for sentencing October 28, 2005.

Another Colorado DMV employee, Janet J Gonzales, and two middlemen in the fraud scheme, Juan Pablo Beltran and Juan Francisco Alderete-Diaz, recently pleaded guilty to similar charges and await sentencing, according to the Inspector General Office.

Following retesting, the DMV revoked over 100 licenses issued by Villegas and Gonzales.

A commercial truck driving school and certified third-party testing facility for CDLs also has been searched in connection with the ongoing joint investigation being conducted with the Social Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Postal Inspection Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Colorado Department of Revenue, and with assistance from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.