Federal officials have gone as far as to call the CDL system in the U.S., “broken.”
Land Line has recently reported on CDL fraud in Connecticut, Louisiana and Massachusetts to name just a few.
But, none of those included a fake beard.
The Nassau County, N.Y. District Attorney’s Office recently announced a 51-count indictment against seven individuals, including three New York State Department of Motor Vehicle representatives.
Former DMV supervisor, Kanaisha Middleton, 33; DMV representative Tawanna Whitfield, 36; DMV representative Satoya Mitchell, 35 and Kanaisha Middleton’s sister, Jamie Middleton, 35 are charged with four felonies and one misdemeanor.
The New York Inspector General’s Office was alerted to the scheme by a supervisor at the Garden City DMV branch, who alleged employees were processing CDL permit applications without applications sitting for the required test, a news release said.
On six occasions between March 2023 and September 2023, Jamie Middleton allegedly approached DMV employees dressed in various disguises, including baggy clothing, facemasks, construction jackets and fake facial hair, according to an investigation and surveillance video from the DMV.
“This scheme was an unbelievable organized breach of public trust and the trust of millions of drivers using Long Island’s roads,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said. “Safely driving large trucks on our roads requires understanding the rules. A single second hesitation or misjudgment could spell catastrophe. These defendants demonstrated for the right price they would sell out their integrity and the safety of others.”
7 people indicted in driver’s license cheating scheme at DMV in Garden City https://t.co/eXq08W7qhu pic.twitter.com/kne8jfeIOA
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) October 9, 2025
The indictment also alleges that Jamie Middleton took CDL exams for permit applicants James Nurse, 42; Omesh Mohan, 42; and Rene Sarduy, 44, who are also charged in the indictment with tampering with public records and falsifying business records.
Nurse was issued a CDL in September 2023 and the investigation revealed the defendant later used this illegally-obtained license to drive recycling trucks. Mohan and Sarduy allegedly went to different DMV locations in Springfield Gardens and Bethpage to provide their paperwork and obtain their interim permits, but were never issued full licenses.
“This is now the second corruption scheme my office uncovered this year involving DMV employees who saw public service not as the privilege that it is, but as a permission slip for corruption,” New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said.
If convicted, all defendants face a maximum sentence of 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison. LL
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