WESTMINSTER–  Following a investigation by California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) investigators, a former DMV employee was convicted and sentenced July 17, 2015 for accepting bribes from customers in exchange for providing California driver’s licenses (CDL).

Jose Alberto Carrillo, 47, of Fresno, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of altering public documents and two felony counts of computer access and fraud. He was sentenced to one year in jail stayed pending completion of 40 hours of community service and three years formal probation, over the objection of the People.

At the time of the crimes, Carrillo worked as a Motor Vehicle Representative at the Westminster DMV Office.

On May 10, 2012, Carrillo offered to alter a customer’s DMV record to reflect that the customer had passed a written driving test, that he had previously failed, in exchange for $100. Carrillo instructed the customer to go to the men’s bathroom to hide the money in between papers to avoid video surveillance. When the customer returned from the bathroom, the defendant accepted the money that was hidden between the papers. Carrillo unlawfully accessed the man’s DMV record on the computer and entered false information that the customer had passed the written tests.

An interim CDL was issued to this customer. Without the record being altered to indicate that the customer passed the written tests, the CDL process could not have continued and the interim CDL could not have been issued.

On June 4, 2012, Carrillo illegally accessed another customer’s DMV record after business hours and entered false information that the customer had provided a U.S. birth certificate as proof of presence in exchange for $500.

This customer was issued a CDL. Without proof of legal presence, the CDL process could not have continued and the CDL could not have been issued.

The DMV became aware of the issue when one of the customers who had paid Carrillo came into the DMV complaining that he had not received his permanent CDL as promised.

"This was a crime that put Californians and visitors to California at risk," said Kenny Ehrman, president of the Association of Motor Vehicle Investigators of California (AMVIC) and Unit-A vice president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA).  "Providing a license to someone who has not taken the necessary tests, or who has failed them, threatens our safety, as does giving a license to someone who has not provided the DMV with a U.S. birth certificate.  Our investigators are guardians of one of the most important pieces of identification Americans possess and we will investigate anyone suspected of falsifying this important document or fraudulently obtaining or issuing one."