A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an Indictment earlier this month charging five Louisville residents with fraud and money laundering offenses in connection with a commercial driver’s license scheme.
U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky made the announcement.
According to the indictment, Donnita Wilson, 32; Aariel Matthews, 27; Raul Tellez Ojeda, 32; Lazaro Alejandro Castello Rojas, 37; and Robert Danger Correa, 41 were charged with Mail Fraud (14 counts), Mail Fraud Conspiracy (one count), Honest Services Mail Fraud (14 counts), Honest Services Mail Fraud Conspiracy (one count), Unlawful Production of Identification Documents (14 Counts), and Money Laundering Conspiracy (one count).
The indictment alleges the defendants devised and executed a scheme that solicited illegal fees between $200 and $1,500 from legally present, non-U.S. citizens who were applying for driver’s licenses on the promise that they would be expedited through the process without undergoing testing requirements. In furtherance of the scheme, the indictment alleges that certain conspirators altered information in government databases to bypass important steps in the application process and, thereby, issue invalid licenses to the non-U.S. citizens.
The indictment alleges the defendants perpetrated this scheme for their own financial gain, and betrayed the trust placed in them by Kentucky’s Transportation Cabinet, according to a statement from Baumgarner.
Bumgarner sid, “This indictment represents the culmination of an investigation into a scheme by Kentucky Transportation Cabinet employees and others to illegally circumvent Kentucky’s process for issuing driver’s licenses, thereby issuing invalid licenses to lawfully present, non-U.S. citizens who had not first demonstrated their qualifications to drive on our roads. Proper vetting of individuals seeking a driver’s license is a prerequisite to ensuring the safety of Kentucky’s roadways and ensuring the legitimacy of state-issued identification. As alleged in the indictment, this fraudulent scheme involved kickbacks and bribes leading to numerous legally present, non-U.S. citizens obtaining unlawfully issued drivers licenses.”
Several defendants were arraigned on Feb. 9, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years for each count of mail fraud, mail fraud conspiracy, honest services mail fraud, and money laundering. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the Kentucky State Police, the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Owensboro Police Department.
Bumgarner’s sy]tatement said an indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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