July 2, 2025
Skye Graham
July 2, 2025
A driving school in New York provided licenses to illegal immigrants who never had to take driver’s exams, Staten Island prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
The driving school paid off Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) workers, who illegally obtained driver’s licenses on behalf of illegal immigrants, many of whom didn’t speak English, Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon said at a press conference.
The T&E driving school, located in Queens, used social media advertising to reach clients, targeting Chinese immigrants in particular, the New York Post reported.
A joint investigation between state investigators and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took down the operation in a crackdown dubbed “Operation Road Test,” prosecutors said. (RELATED: Trump DOJ Unveils Charges In Record-Setting Healthcare Fraud Case)
The driving school charged $1,600 for a driver’s license if the client had already obtained a permit, and $2,000 for a permit and a license. Then, employees from the school would take the required tests in place of the clients, or the DMV workers would bypass the tests and issue the permits and licenses.
Seven named individuals, including employees and road test drivers at the T&E driving school and DMV examiners, were indicted in the case. They were arraigned on various charges, including fraud, tampering, and theft, the New York Post reported.
“The state employees indicted here sold out not just the safety of their fellow New Yorkers, but they sold out their oaths of office,” said New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang in a Tuesday press conference. “The conduct uncovered in this investigation represents a shocking betrayal of public trust.”
McMahon said the scheme likely extends beyond the people who were indicted.
“The numbers, as we go through this investigation, as we go through the materials that have been seized, we think we are going to find hundreds if not thousands of people that have been part of this scam,” McMahon said.
All of the defendants are due back in court Sept. 3, according to online records. Most of the defendants face a maximum sentence of 2 to 7 years in prison if found guilty.
“Today’s announcement underscores the HSI New York El Dorado Task Force’s unrelenting focus on dismantling and disrupting fraud schemes that exploit vulnerable communities and jeopardize the public’s safety,” Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel said.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently launched an audit into states that issue non-domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL), suggesting the licensing system was being used by illegal immigrants, the Daily Caller reported.
“The open borders policies of the last administration allowed millions to flood our country – leading to serious allegations that the trucking licensing system is being exploited,” DOT Sec. Sean Duffy said in a statement to the Caller. “Today, we are launching a nationwide audit to get to the bottom of this.”
There have been several recent instances of illegal immigrants being involved in incidents on the road.
An illegal immigrant was convicted in June in a DUI crash that killed a Washington state trooper. In April, an unlicensed illegal immigrant in Florida crashed into a police car and sent the officer to the hospital.