DMV Employees Arrested For Allegedly Selling IDs To Undocumented, Brokering Fraudulent Vehicle Titles
Four Southern California-based DMV employees were arrested as part of an alleged scheme to issue false driver's licenses and titles for people, including the undocumented, who otherwise shouldn't otherwise have them, the department announced Thursday afternoon.
The investigation involved "stolen/embezzled high-end vehicles" and issuance of false driver's licenses and fraudulent titles, the department stated. Three of the suspects worked out of the Hope Street office in Exposition Park. Another worked in Fullerton.
Arrested: Taneika Mashay Lathan, 22; Shavon Renae Shorter, 25; and Kimberly Nicole Sadler, 30, of the Hope Street office; and Angelina Nanette James, 42, of the Fullerton office. They face possible charges of grand theft, illegal computer access, bribery and use of documents to conceal immigration status.
Samuel Keith Swayzer, 39, who doesn't work for the department but who was caught up in the investigation, was arrested on suspicion of narcotics and illegal firearm possession.
DMV officials allege that the crew worked together, for example, to issue fake driver's licenses for $350 to $6,000 each.
A sixth man, 40-year-old license registration examiner Gonzalo Garcia, who worked int he Hollywood offfice, was arrested in a separate investigation. He is suspected of illegally accessing DMV computers and falsifying public records. More details were not available.
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