Former DMV Employee Found Guilty Of Issuing Over 40 Fraudulent Driver's Licenses
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A former Salinas DMV employee was found guilty of conspiring to issue fraudulent California commercial driver's licenses Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced that Robert S. Turchin, 68, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and identity fraud and three counts of identity fraud.
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Turchin was an employee at the DMV in Salinas between 2012-2015 and was responsible for conducting tests for applicants for commercial licenses to operate 18-wheel tractor-trailers and commercial buses.
According to the Department of Justice, Turchin worked with fellow employee Emma Klem and truck school owner Mangal Gill to falsify commercial license test results in the DMV database. Gill would offer to get potential drivers commercial licenses without having to pass the written or behind the wheel tests, and Turchin and Klem would fraudulently update tests at Gill's request.
"This prosecution of a California state employee for bribery resulting in grave danger to public safety is very troubling," U.S. Attorney Scott stated. "It is alarming to think that unqualified persons were licensed to operate big rigs and buses on our public roadways. We will continue to do everything we can to root out public corruption at any level, and hold those in positions of trust accountable for their greed."
The trial evidence showed that Turchin and his co-conspirators falsified records for at least 40 individuals to help them obtain commercial licenses.
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During the investigation, undercover operatives obtained three commercial licenses in 2013 and 2014. The confidential operatives paid Gill over $12,000 after Turchin and Klem fraudulently entered passing scores into the DMV database even though the operatives did not pass or take the tests, according to the U.S. Attorney.
Co-defendants Gill and Klem have already pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and identity fraud and are awaiting sentencing.
Turchin is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21 and faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy count and a maximum of 15 years in prison for the fraud involving identification documents counts, and up to a $250,000 fine per each count.
