Two former Detroit DOT employees pleaded guilty for their roles in a CDL fraud scheme.

On March 28, Calvin Foulks and Michelle Reed pleaded guilty in Michigan State Court, Detroit, to forgery and bribery. Foulks, of Southfield, Michigan, and Reed, of Novi, Michigan, also agreed to pay restitution to the city of Detroit in the amounts of $1,000 and $625 respectively.

In February 2017, Foulks and Reed turned themselves in and were arraigned on felony charges for taking more than $4,000 in cash bribes in return for falsifying multiple Michigan Department of State documents. The forged documents stated that applicants had taken and passed the CDL skills test when, in fact, they had not.

The Michigan Secretary of State invalidated 85 CDL tests related to the scheme. Affected drivers were required to retest before their CDL driving privileges could be restored.

DDOT Director Dan Dirks said the incidents happened between May 2012 and June 2013. Once it was discovered, DDOT stopped conducting its own CDL testing. Since that time all DDOT drivers have received their certifications through a third-party vendor, according to the Detroit Free Press. The cost for this certification is paid for by the students.

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with assistance from the Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Detroit Police Department-Internal Affairs, and the State of Michigan Attorney General’s Office.