Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford on Friday announced the takedown of "an illegal alien driver's license scheme" resulting in eight arrests and $120,000 in cash seized.
Ford said "hundreds, if not thousands" of driver's licenses, both commercial and passenger, were fraudulently issued. Uthemeier indicated this investigation has set off a statewide search for other bad actors.
"Each license issued could result in criminal charges for license holders," said Ford.
The Sheriff's office said it noticed unusual activity at the local DMV office and on May 20 began an investigation alongside Homeland Security Investigations.
"Information was reported that two DMV employees were compromised and were being financially compensated to provide individuals with driver’s licenses, even though the individuals did not meet statutory requirements to lawfully obtain the license," a release from the Sheriff's office said.
Florida does issue non-domiciled CDLs, or CDLs to non-citizens or U.S. citizens who live in other states. In 2024 the state issued 24,220 CDLs to U.S. citizens and 5,614 to non-citizens, according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
[Related: Trump admin reviewing non-domiciled CDLs for foreign drivers: How many are there?]
The investigation found "two employees were indeed issuing a unusually large number of drivers licenses, and, when in-house video at the DMV was reviewed, investigators confirmed the individuals receiving the licenses were bypassing the required tests necessary to lawfully receive a license."
Those two employees, Bancelie Velazco, age 37 of Panama City, and Demetrius Smith II, age 30 of Panama City, were subsequently arrested. Velazco has been charged with nine counts of DMV Employee Issue Unlawful DL and nine counts of Official Misconduct. Smith has been charged with eight counts of DMV Employee Issue Unlawful DL and eight counts of Official Misconduct.
"Approximately $120,000 in US currency was seized from the homes of the arrested employees as illicit proceeds," the Sheriff's office said.
The investigation further revealed local businesses "acting as brokers" claiming to assist with immigration paperwork but "instead arranged illegal transactions and funneled aliens as far away as Miami to obtain licenses fraudulently," Sheriff Ford said at a press conference announcing the arrests.
[Related: Ban non-domiciled CDLs for foreign drivers? Owner-ops weigh in]
"Let me be clear that putting untested, unqualified drivers, especially those with commercial licenses, on our roads is an unacceptable risk to every family in this state," Ford continued. "We have individuals on the road, possibly operating tractor-trailers, who never demonstrated the basic skills to do so safely. This is not a paperwork issue, this is a direct threat to highway safety and a betrayal of the public trust."
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (podium) and Bay County Sheriff Tom Ford (left) present the results of an investigation into a cash-for-credentials scheme in Florida. Bay County Sheriff's Office
The individuals identified as intermediaries and arrested were as follows:
- Niurbis Rosales, age 37 of Panama City, on 24 counts of DMV Employee Issue Fraud DL, and 24 counts of Official Misconduct. She owned and operated a CubaMax location.
- Leonardo Gutierrez, age 32 of Panama City, on seven counts of DMV Employee Issue Fraud DL, and seven counts Principal: Official Misconduct.
- Hung Du, age 58 of Panama City, on 36 counts of Principal: DMV Employee Issue Fraud DL, and 36 counts Principal: Official Misconduct.
- Isbrieta Parra, age 44 of Panama City, on seven counts of Principal: DMV Employee Issue Fraud DL, and seven counts Principal: Official Misconduct.
- Zoila Gonzalez-Pena, age 38 of Panama City, on 12 counts of Principal: DMV Employee Issue Fraud DL, and 12 counts Principal: Official Misconduct. She was an employee at CubaMax.
Overdrive contacted CubaMax corporate headquarters, and a spokesperson said that "Cubamax Travel Inc. operates under a franchise model, with independently owned and managed franchise locations across different parts of Florida."
CubaMax said it wasn't aware of the location searched or the employee arrested, and that the employee likely worked for a local franchisee. "The company’s headquarters is based in Miami, and we are not involved in any activity related to the issuance of driver’s licenses or DMV services of any kind," the CubaMax spokesperson said.
Overdrive also contacted the Florida Attorney General to ask how many of the licenses were CDLs and if those given CDLs fraudulently were actually tested at all.
Uthmeier at the press conference announcing the arrests said the "silver lining" to the "terrible discovery" of fraudulent drivers' credentials was that, now, Florida was on the lookout for similar schemes.
The scheme was "pretty widespread and advanced," said Uthmeier. "We know if it happened here, there’s a good chance it could be happening in a county somewhere else, so I ask our DMV officers and tax collectors around the state pay attention, do a deep dive and look out for any signs of somebody taking cash on the side to help criminal aliens get driver's licenses.
"My warning to any illegal alien coming to Florida to commit further crimes: we are going to find you, hold you accountable, and then send you back to where you came from."
