Knowledge and skills testing, as well as entry-level driver training, were allegedly all bypassed as part of a CDL bribery scheme in Louisiana.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana, this CDL scheme involved a local business owner, office of motor vehicle employees and a truck driver training business.
Mahmoud Alhattab, a Louisiana restaurant owner, is alleged to have bribed Jenay Davis and Sakira Millien, employees at the Donaldsonville, La., Office of Motor Vehicles, to complete knowledge tests for CDL applicants. The indictment alleges Davis and Millien performed internet searches to find the answers to the test.
According to the indictment, Alhattab also bribed Christopher Bryan Burns and Jonathan Parsons, owners of a truck driver training business, to falsely report in a federal database that CDL applicants had successfully completed training.
To defeat the CDL skills test, Alhattab allegedly paid Burns and Parsons to falsify reports to the state of Louisiana.
It’s also alleged that Parsons paid Marline Roberts, another skills test examiner, to create phony score sheets to corroborate the false test reports on some occasions, the indictment said.
Six Defendants Indicted for Commercial Driver’s License Bribery Scheme https://t.co/K6nnr2lH7R
— U.S. Attorney EDLA (@EDLAnews) August 29, 2025
All six defendants are jointly charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
Additionally, Alhattab and Parsons are each charged with two counts of honest wire fraud services and four counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Burns, Davis and Roberts are each charged with one count of honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
Millien is charged with four counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
The conspiracy and wire fraud counts are each punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, while the bribery counts are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Each count may also include a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.
Just part of the problem
Recent focus at the national and state levels has been on English-language proficiency and non-domiciled CDLs. Stakeholders like the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association have pointed out these are longtime problems and need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
Obtaining that initial CDL is key to ensuring compliance with safety regulations, OOIDA has said – also noting that requirements to obtain a CDL should include an English-proficiency test.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance pointed out in April that a conflict in the regulations currently allows drivers to take the knowledge test in languages other than English, potentially setting them up to fail once they take that first load. CVSA voted to petition the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to harmonize CDL testing requirements with driver qualification requirements.
Factor in alleged schemes like the one in Louisiana, and the weaknesses in CDL testing programs become even clearer. LL
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