KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knoxville couple pleaded guilty to trying to make hundreds of fake licenses and identification cards, and now face a term of up to 15 years in prison, each.
According to a release from the Department of Justice, Cheryl Huff, 49, and her husband, Mario Paz-Meija, 50, pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to make false identification documents. They will face sentencing in May 2024 before the Honorable Katherine A. Crytzer.
According to a release, the driver's licenses and identification cards would have gone to people not qualified to have them. Authorities said Paz-Meija recruited people who were not citizens of the U.S. and were not residents of Tennessee who wanted to get a Tennessee driver's license or identification card. The release said he claimed he could get them one in exchange for $2,500.
It also said Huff was a District Manager for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. She managed and supervised employees at Driver Service Centers in the Knoxville area, and had the authority to issue driver's licenses and application cards.
The release also said Paz-Meija helped them get false citizenship and residency documents, such as fraudulent lease agreements and fake birth certificates, Social Security cards and driver's licenses from other states. The documents could be used to establish proof of citizenship or legal residency in the U.S.
According to the release, Huff would access internal software to confirm the names and information on false citizenship and residency documents. Authorities said Huff knew, or deliberately ignored, the scheme with her husband.
They said for example, on June 23, her husband texted her identifying information used on fake documents, asking Huff to, "Check that please." She responded by saying, "All of these are not on file. They're good."
When Paz-Mejia's customers got fake citizenship and residency documents, he met them at a Knoxville-area Driver Service Center before business hours and escorted them into the center with Huff's help, according to a release from authorities. Once inside, they would start driver's license applications for the customers.
Huff also told employees to complete applications and issue driver's licenses to several of her husband's customers, according to the release.
