Man Given 2-Year Sentence in CDL Fraud Case

Another man connected with a widespread CDL test-taking fraud scheme was sentenced by New York District Court to 28 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Jose Payano pleaded guilty to mail fraud in connection to the CDL test-taking scheme. An investigation found that Payano had facilitated the exchange of testing materials between a CDL applicant and an external test-taker.

The judge in the case cited the threat to public safety as the reason for the harsh sentence.

The CDL applicants paid facilitators $1,800 – $2,500 in return for exam answers and escort assistance through the DMV processes. The investigation also found evidence that in some schemes, pencils were used with miniaturized test answers encoded on them and Bluetooth headsets were used to relay answers.

Just last week, a husband and wife team that owned a Brooklyn CDL driving school were ordered to pay more than 175,000 in cash and assets for their part in the testing fraud case.  Payano was one of eleven people arrested in connection with the testing fraud investigation.