All six defendants involved in a bribery scheme that enabled more than 100 people to fraudulently obtain commercial driver’s licenses in Louisiana have now pleaded guilty, announced U.S. Attorney Dera Millienavid I. Courcelle.
Pleading guilty were:
- Jenay Davis
- Christopher Bryan Burns
- Shakera Millien
- Mahmouf Alhattab
- Jonathan Parsons
- Marlene Roberts
Alhattab,a restaurant owner, led a scheme in which commercial driver’s license applicants paid him an average of $5,000 to obtain unearned CDLs. The scheme enabled applicants to bypass all three main federally-mandated steps of the CDL qualification process: the knowledge test, entry-level driver training, and the skills test.
To bypass the knowledge test, Allhattab bribed Millioen and Davis, employees at the Donaldsonville, Louisiana OMV office. Alhattab typically sent Millien or Davis a photograph of an applicant’s driver’s license via cell phone, along with any requested endorsements, such as a school bus endorsement. Millien or Davis then completed the applicant’s knowledge test.
After Millien or Davis falsified the test results, Alhattab would bring the applicant to the Donaldsonville OMV office, where Millien or Davis issued a commercial learner’s permit based on the fraudulent scores. Applicants entered the OMV office through a non-public side door and were permitted access to non-public areas. On some occasions, ALHATTAB even went behind the counter and operated the OMV camera to take applicants’ photographs for the permits. Alhattab paid Millien in cash and provided them with meals.
After passing the knowledge test and obtaining a commercial learner’s permit, most CDL applicants are required to complete entry‑level driver training, which includes demonstrating proficiency in operating a commercial vehicle on public roads.
To bypass the training requirement, Alhattab bribed Parsons and Burns, each of whom operated a truck‑driver training business. Alhattab typically sent P them a photograph of an applicant’s commercial learner’s permit via cell phone, thereby providing the information to create false training records. Parsons and Burns, in exchange for payments from Alhattab, reported in a federal database that applicants successfully completed training when, in fact, no training occurred.
The final major step in the CDL process is the skills test.
To defeat the skills test requirement, Alhattab again bribed Parsons and Burns, who, in addition to being trainers, were certified by Louisiana to administer the test. They falsely reported to the state that applicants passed the skills test when the applicants had not taken it.
On some occasions, Parsons paid another examiner, defendant Roberts, to assist by creating fake score sheets to support Parsons's fraudulent test entries.
After an applicant received false skills test scores, Alhattab typically alerted Millien or Davis that the applicant would be returning to the OMV office to obtain the CDL. Because many applicants were not proficient in English, Alhattab sometimes mentioned the language barrier.
From August 2020 through February 2024, Alhattab caused at least 124 people to fraudulently receive CDLs. During that time, Millien issued at least 108 commercial learner’s permits in exchange for payments. Also, during that period, Parsons caused at least 118 people to fraudulently receive CDLs by providing each person with a false training entry, or a false skills test entry, or both.
The six defendants each pleaded guilty to Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds, which is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
