KNOXVILLE, Tenn — A former manager of area state driver's license centers and her husband have admitted to a conspiracy to issue hundreds of fake licenses to people who weren't supposed to have them, federal authorities said.
Cheryl Huff and Mario Paz-Mejia entered guilty pleas Thursday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. They admitted to a count of conspiracy to produce, without lawful authority, identification documents or false identification documents.
They previously submitted plea agreements in March.
They're to be sentenced May 24 by U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Crytzer, and face up to 15 years in prison each.
Huff was a district manager for the state's Department of Safety and Homeland Security. It issues driver’s licenses and identification cards at driver service centers, or DSC.
It was Huff's job to oversee service center employees in the Knoxville area.
Paz-Mejia, using his connection with Huff, made it known to those who needed one that he could get them a state DL or ID card in exchange for $2,500, according to the government. Often these were people who either weren't U.S. citizens or who didn't live in Tennessee, according to the government.
"Paz-Mejia also assisted his customers in obtaining false citizenship and residency documents—two requirements to obtain a Tennessee driver’s license—including fraudulent lease agreements to establish proof of Tennessee residency, and false birth certificates, Social Security cards, and driver’s licenses from other states and U.S. territories to establish proof of citizenship or legal residency in the United States," a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Knoxville states.
Huff knew or arguably turned a blind eye on the fact that her husband was illegally helping clients get false documents for money, the government alleges.
She helped ensure he could pull off the scheme, prosecutors allege.
Once someone got false citizenship and residency documents, Pax-Mejia "arranged to meet them at a Knoxville-area DSC before business hours."
"Once Paz-Mejia and his customers were inside, Huff initiated driver’s license applications for the customers using TDSHS software," prosecutors said.
Huff abused her state position of trust, area U.S. Attorney Francis M. "Trey" Hamilton said in the government's news release.
In addition to prison time, the defendants face $250,000 fines and three years of supervised release.