2 plead guilty in scheme to bribe DMV employees to issue commercial driver’s licenses – 4 others charged

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two defendants, including a California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) employee, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from a scheme to sell commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to buyers who never took the required tests.

In addition to Tuesday’s guilty pleas, four more individuals, including two other DMV workers, were charged in a 17‑count indictment unsealed Friday. The charges stem from separate but related  probes conducted by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ Investigations Division, Office of Internal Affairs.

According to court documents, between June 2011 and March 2015, the owners of three truck driving schools acted as brokers, accepting money from individuals who wanted to obtain Class A CDL without taking and passing the required written and behind-the-wheel driving tests. The brokers used the money to bribe DMV employees to enter false information into the DMV’s databases indicating the individuals had passed the tests. This resulted in the DMV issuing official driver’s licenses to individuals who were not qualified to receive such licenses.

Emma Klem, 45, of Salinas, who worked at a DMV branch in Salinas, and trucking school owner Kulwinder Dosanjh Singh, aka Sodhi Singh, 58, of Turlock, were charged earlier in separate criminal pleadings. The two pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to commit bribery and identity fraud.

The indictment, returned Thursday and unsealed Friday, charges trucking school owners Pavitar Dosangh Singh, aka Peter Singh, 55, of Sacramento; and Mangal Gill, 55, of San Ramon; and DMV examiners Andrew Kimura, 30, of Sacramento; and Robert Turchin, 65, of Salinas, with conspiracy, bribery, and fraud in connection with identification documents. The indictment specifically references the involvement of Klem and Sodhi Singh.

“Public corruption is always a high priority for the U.S. Department of Justice, but our mission is particularly crucial when the conduct not only violates the public trust, but endangers public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. “We depend on the Department of Motor Vehicles to keep the roads of this state safe, and individuals who undermine that function for personal gain must not expect leniency from the justice system. I am pleased that DMV Investigations worked so closely with the FBI, HSI, and my office to expose and prosecute this conduct.”

In order to obtain a Class A CDL to operate a commercial truck, such as an 18-wheeler, applicants must pass both a written test, which is offered in many DMV locations including Sacramento, and a behind-the-wheel test which is offered in a limited number of DMV locations, including Salinas.

“These investigations and the criminal charges they produced send a very clear and loud message that the Department of Motor Vehicles takes fraud and illegal activity very seriously, and it is absolutely not tolerated,” stated Frank Alvarez, chief investigator with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. “DMV has already taken action and cancelled or revoked a number of licenses that appear to have been obtained through fraudulent means. The department will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure that justice is served.”

The indictment charges three conspiracies. The first began in approximately June 2011 and involved Kimura, Peter Singh, and Gill, who conspired with Klem and Sodhi Singh to obtain Class A CDLs for individuals who had not taken or passed the necessary DMV examinations in return for the payment of money to employees of the DMV (bribery), and to produce identification documents without lawful authority (ID fraud). The indictment alleges Kimura was a Licensing Registration Examiner in the DMV’s Sacramento office where he processed applications for Class A and Class B commercial and Class C non‑commercial driver’s licenses. Peter Singh owned and operated a truck driving school in Sacramento and acted as a broker to assist individuals in obtaining Class A, Class B, and Class C driver’s licenses. Gill owned and operated trucking schools in Fremont, Lathrop, Fresno, and Salinas and acted as a broker to assist individuals in obtaining Class A, Class B, or Class C licenses. Sodhi Singh owned and operated a truck driving school in Turlock and also acted as a broker to assist individuals in obtaining Class A, Class B, and Class C licenses. Klem was a Motor Vehicle Representative who worked in the DMV’s office in Salinas. Her duties included processing applications for Class A, Class B, and Class C licenses.

“Public corruption undermines the integrity of government, compromises safety, and damages our trust in public officials and employees,” said Monica M. Miller, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Sacramento field office. “The FBI is grateful for the collaboration of the California DMV and HSI during this complex, multi-year investigation. We are committed to working with our federal and state partners to identify and investigate public corruption at any level and urge the public to contact us with any information regarding corruption in government.”

The second alleged fraud conspiracy involved Gill, Klem, and DMV employee Robert Turchin, who was a Licensing Registration Examiner working at the DMV facility in Salinas. According to the indictment, from July 2012 until April 2015, Gill acted as a broker for individuals seeking to obtain Class A or Class B CDLs without taking the requisite DMV examinations. He paid Turchin and Klem and other DMV employees to alter DMV records so that Class A and Class B CDLs would be issued to individuals who were not qualified to receive such licenses.

According to the indictment, the third conspiracy began in April 2013 and continued until July 2015 in Sacramento. It is alleged that Peter Singh paid money to Kimura to access the DMV’s computer database and alter individuals’ electronic DMV records to fraudulently and incorrectly indicate that applicants had passed examinations for Class C licenses, had passed the written examination for Class A CDLs, or had fulfilled the requirements for a Class A or Class B CDL renewal. These incorrect and fraudulent entries in the DMV database caused the DMV to issue licenses to unqualified individuals.

As part of the guilty pleas entered Tuesday, Sodhi Singh admitted accepting money to bribe DMV employees to obtain CDLs for individuals, and DMV employee Emma Klem admitted changing DMV data to indicate that those individuals had passed behind-the-wheel tests, when in fact they had not.

Court documents indicate the number of CDLs issued as a result of the scheme could exceed 100. The investigation is continuing.

Klem and Sodhi Singh are scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 17. Peter Singh and Andrew Kimura were arraigned Aug. 7 and pleaded not guilty. Turchin and Gill are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 14. Each of the criminal counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges are only allegations; defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd Pickles and Rosanne L. Rust.