From investigation to incarceration, our California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) members who are investigators with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) know how to get the job done.

Last week a Fresno man, Yadwinder Singh, 50,  was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in a driver’s license scheme to issue California commercial driver’s licenses to people who either did not take written or behind-the-wheel tests or failed to pass them.

“Once obtained by unqualified individuals, these commercial driver licenses allow individuals to travel freely and haul dangerous cargo throughout the U.S. and international border crossings,” said Association of Motor Vehicles Investigators of California (AMVIC) President Kenny Ehrman.

Singh is going to prison for recruiting those who were interested in buying fraudulent “Class C” or “Class A” driver’s licenses.  According to court documents, Singh would wait outside a Fresno DMV office and approach people with an offer to obtain a license without the need to pass the required tests.  In all, more than a dozen people were arrested in the scheme, including a former DMV employee who is still awaiting trial.

The former DMV employee, Alfonso Casarez , is accused of altering the electronic records at DMV to make it appear as though someone had actually taken and passed the required tests.   The DMV would then automatically issue and mail a genuine driver’s license.

“This case is another example of the vital role DMV investigators play in protecting the citizens of California,” said Ehrman.  “When individuals are able to circumvent the testing process and obtain a commercial driver’s license it compromises everyone’s safety on the highways.

According to records, Singh caused at least 32 commercial and noncommercial licenses to be unlawfully issued.

“This crime not only put anyone travelling out on the road in danger, it posed a threat to national security,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.  “We applaud our CSLEA/AMVIC members who, as DMV investigators, put a stop to it. “