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Crime report: Another CDL fraud scheme, former trooper sentenced in bribery scheme, more

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Updated Apr 23, 2018

Action in three trucking-related crimes has recently been reported by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and The Dallas Morning News, including a CDL testing fraud scheme, a reincarnated carrier and a former state trooper sentenced to prison time for accepting bribes.

Mississippi CDL examiners indicted for issuing fraudulent CDL skills test scores

Two third-party CDL examiners in Mississippi, Benjamin McGriggs and Robert Davis, were indicted on March 6 for making and using false writings and documents.

Accoding to OIG, the pair accepted cash payments from CDL skills test applicants in lieu of administering the test. In exchange for cash, McGriggs and Davis allegedly provided approximately 65 CDL applicants with CDL test score sheets that falsely certified that the drivers successfully completed the skills test when they had actually never taken the test.

S.C. man indicted in reincarnated carrier scheme

On March 27, Cameron Banks was indicted on three counts of falsification of records in federal investigations with intent to impede, obstruct and influence FMCSA’s process of investigation and proper administration.

According to OIG, the indictment alleged that on three separate occasions between 2015 and 2018, Banks accessed FMCSA’s database and completed a Motor Carrier Authority application to avoid out-of-service orders FMCSA had placed on DOT numbers he operated. OIG says on each occasion, Banks didn’t disclose any relationship with other entities licensed by FMCSA within the previous three years.

The indictment also charged him with healthcare fraud and money laundering.

Former Texas trooper gets prison time for accepting bribes for clean inspections

Kevin Gerard Cauley, a former Texas Department of Public Safety sergeant, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for accepting bribes from a trucking company in exchange for clean inspection reports, according to a report from the Dallas Morning News.

Cauley reportedly pleaded guilty last June to one count of honest services wire fraud.According to the report, Orlinte Cruz, the owner of Dallas-based trucking companies Cruz and Sons Transportation and UGMA Logistics, approached Cauley in July 2014 about conducting safety inspections for the company.

From that point through September 2015, Cauley reported conducting 39 Level 1 inspections on Cruz and Sons trucks, all of which were given a Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspection decal.

Cruz reportedly paid Cauley at least $4,000 for the clean inspections. Cruz pleaded guilty earlier this year and has yet to be sentenced.