Activity in two trucking-related criminal cases involving separate commercial driver’s license test schemes was recently announced by the Department of Transportation.
In Utah, Antonio Estuardo Tinti was charged on March 14 for making a false statement related to the administration of a CDL test. According to the DOT’s Office of Inspector General, Tinti administered a CDL skills test to Gregorio Bozas and falsely certified that Bozas had completed and passed the road test.
Bozas was reportedly given a passing score, even though he did not pass. OIG says during the test he drove over multiple curbs, which is an automatic road test failure, but Tinti accepted a $150 bribe for a passing score.
On March 28, two former Detroit DOT employees pleaded guilty to forgery and bribery for their roles in a CDL fraud scheme.
Calvin Foulks and Michelle Reed agreed to pay restitution to the city of Detroit in the amounts of $1,000 and $625, respectively, OIG reports. Both Foulks and Reed were arraigned on felony charges in February for taking more than $4,000 in cash bribes in return for falsifying documents, stating that CDL applicants had taken and passed CDL skills tests when they had not.
As a result of the fraud scheme, the Michigan Secretary of State invalidated 85 CDL tests, and the affected drivers were required to retest for their CDL driving privileges to be restored.
