Multi-agency task force arrests eight in illegal driver’s license scheme

(The Center Square) — Florida law enforcement authorities continue to crack down on crime related to noncitizens and illegal immigration. The latest is an illegal driver’s license scheme involving Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles employees.

On Thursday, Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford announced that a multi-agency investigation led to the arrest of eight people and the seizure of $120,000 in illicit proceeds.

This included two DMV employees arrested for their role in a scheme to provide driver’s licenses to illegal foreign nationals for cash who are prohibited from obtaining driver’s licenses in Florida.

“Florida’s sheriffs are on the front lines of our state’s fight against illegal immigration, and Sheriff Ford is rooting out the corruption they bring into our state,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said. “My warning to any illegal alien coming to Florida to commit further crimes: We are going to find you, hold you accountable, and then send you back to where you came from.”

The investigation began less than a month ago led by the sheriff’s office working with Homeland Security Investigations into two DMV employees allegedly engaging in suspicious driver’s license transactions at the Bay County Tax Collectors Office.

“Information was reported that two DMV employees were compromised and were being financially compensated to provide individuals with driver’s licenses, even though the individuals did not meet statutory requirements to lawfully obtain the license,” the sheriff said.

BCSO investigators discovered that two DMV employees were “issuing a unusually large number of drivers licenses” at the county office.

After reviewing DMV in-house video investigators discovered that those receiving driver’s licenses “were bypassing the required tests necessary to lawfully receive a license.”

They also discovered that they were traveling from across the state to Bay County, where they don’t live, to fraudulently receive official driver’s licenses.

Two DMV employees arrested, both of Panama City, were Bancelie Velazco and Demetrius Smith. Velazco and Smith were charged with nine and eight counts, respectively, of DMV Employee Issue Unlawful DL, and nine and eight counts, respectively, of official misconduct.

Investigators seized approximately $120,000 from their homes from illicit proceeds of the scheme, the sheriff said.

Investigators also discovered that third-party intermediaries were allegedly involved in directing illegal foreign nationals to Velazco and Smith to unlawfully obtain their driver’s licenses. Investigators also found that Velazco and Smith were paid cash in person at the DMV or online through a cash app.

Bank records showed “suspicious cash app transactions” whereby “Velazco was depositing a suspicious amount of cash into her accounts, inconsistent with her monthly salary,” according to the charges.

The intermediaries allegedly involved include individuals and a Callaway-based company, CubaMax, which processes immigration documents. The company allegedly “acted as a referral source for those seeking to obtain driver’s licenses fraudulently, directing them to the local DMV,” the sheriff said. “A search warrant was executed at CubaMax to obtain evidence of this scheme.”

Five individuals, all from Panama City, were arrested for their alleged intermediary role. They include the owner of CubaMax, Niurbis Rosales, on 24 counts of DMV Employee Issue Fraud DL and 24 counts of Official Misconduct, and CubaMax employee, Zoila Gonzalez-Pena, on 12 counts each of the same charges.

Other alleged intermediaries arrested with multiple counts for the same two charges were Leonardo Gutierrez, Hung Du and Isbrieta Parra.

Mirna Fernandez, also of Panama City, was also arrested on a charge of Unlawful Possession of a Driver’s License. Authorities believe she fraudulently obtained her driver’s license and paid to receive a passing grade on her exam and skills exam through the scheme.

In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law prohibiting illegal foreign nationals from obtaining driver’s licenses in the state. Under the law, Florida also doesn’t recognize licenses issued to foreign nationals from states knowing they are in the country illegally.

FLHSMV executive director Dave Kerner explained when the new policy rolled out that “states should not be in the business of incentivizing those that cross the border illegally, to avoid detection, and remain undocumented. Florida is not going to provide that incentive, and if you do remain undocumented and can’t prove your lawful presence, then we’re not going to give you an incentive to be allowed to drive in our state, and that seems very basic.”

Joining Sheriff Ford and AG Uthmeier at the announcement were Florida Immigration Czar Larry Keefe, FDLE Deputy Commissioner Vaden Pollard, Florida Highway Patrol Colonel Gary Howze, HIS- Tallahassee Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Shields, State Attorney’s Office, 14th District Peter Overstreet, Bay County Tax Collector Chuck Purdue and FBI Resident Special Agent in Charge Larry Lynn.

The investigation is ongoing; additional charges and arrests are expected, the sheriff said.