“This type of illegal activity puts all of us who are out on the roads at risk and stains the reputation of the honest, hardworking DMV employees who work daily to be our safeguards against those who should not be driving vehicles because they can’t complete the necessary tests.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

SACRAMENTO- On April 28, 2022, Shawana Denise Harris, 52, of Rancho Cucamonga, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bribery, to commit unauthorized access of a computer, and to commit identity fraud, which resulted in unqualified drivers receiving their California commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).

According to court documents, on Nov. 16, 2017, Harris was charged with conspiring to receive bribes as a DMV employee in Rancho Cucamonga for accessing and altering records in the DMV’s database in Sacramento. During the scheme, Harris altered records to show that applicants for California CDLs had passed the required tests when, in truth, they had not done so, and in some cases had not even taken the tests. In so doing, this caused the DMV to issue permits and completed California CDLs despite the applicants not having taken or passed those tests.

This case is the product of an investigation by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Office of Internal Affairs; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations; and the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General.

Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley. Harris faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.