Fresno, CA – Fifteen defendants face charges in federal court related to an alleged scheme to sell fraudulently issued California Drivers licenses.
The two indictments were unsealed today after the arrests of eleven Central California residents who will be defendants in the case. Two of the defendants are former DMV employees.
The alleged scheme was two-fold. The first indictment charges former DMV technician Alfonso Casarez, 49, of Fresno and 12 others with 34 counts in a criminal conspiracy, unlawful production of identification documents, and unlawful transfer of those documents. Facing those charges along with Casarez are: Rosemary Fierros, 46, Victor Vasquez, 34, Dimas Dominguez Martinez, 38, Jesus Dominguez Martinez, 39, Armando Maravilla, 39, and Cassandra Casarez Fierros, 19, all of Madera; Angel Ociris Gutierrez, 26, of Salinas; Alcides Urias, 33, of Calexico; Luis Alberto Moreno Delgado, 31, of Riverdale; Jose Manuel Garcia, 43, of Kerman; and Armando Treyes Andrade, 48, of Chowchilla. According to the indictment, Casarez received money in exchange for electronically altering DMV records to reflect that the applicants who paid him had successfully passed written and driving tests. Based upon Casarez’ alteration, the indictment charges, the DMV issued commercial licenses to the applicants. The others charged facilitated Casarez’ efforts or acted to recruit the applicants.
The second indictment also charges Casarez with conspiring to electronically alter DMV records to facilitate, for fee, the receipt of Class A and Class C commercial driver’s licenses. Manjit Singh, 46, of India, and Yadwinder Singh, 46, of Fresno, allegedly assisted Casarez in the operation. All three face 15 counts of criminal conspiracy.
“Given the potential security and safety implications,” said Clark Settles, special agent for that agency in Northern California in a prepared statement, “targeting organizations that enable individuals to fraudulently obtain legitimate U.S. identity documents is a top enforcement priority for ICE Homeland Security Investigations.”
United States Attorney, Eastern District of California, Benjamin B. Wagner announced the grand jury indictments late today. The cases have resulted from the combined efforts of investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security, and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
All defendants arraigned thus far have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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