In a coordinated bust announced on June 12, 2025, Florida authorities revealed the arrest of eight individuals, including two Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) employees, for allegedly participating in a multi-year drivers license fraud scheme aimed at illegal aliens.
The operation was led by a joint investigation between the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Two state workers were allegedly issuing licenses to illegal aliens in exchange for cash, with none of the required testing.
“Putting untested, unqualified drivers, especially those with commercial licenses, on our roads is an unacceptable risk to every family in the state,” Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said during a news conference on Thursday. “These licenses were essentially sold, not earned,” Sheriff Ford continued. “ That means we have individuals on the road, possibly operating tractor-trailers, who never demonstrated the basic skills to do so safely. It’s not a paperwork issue, it’s a direct threat to highway safety and a betrayal of the public trust.”
Two tax collector employees — Bancelie Velazco and Demetrius Smith II, both from Panama City — allegedly issued fraudulent licenses, without applicants taking the required written or road exams, a felony, receiving bribes via Cash App or direct payments.
Alleged intermediaries involved in coordinating the scheme include
One of the individuals, Mirna Fernandez, allegedly paid for fraudulent passing results on her exam. She faces an unlawful possession charge, according to reporting from freightwaves.com.
Reporting from AmericanTruckers.com calls the scheme “labor or wage dumping,” a practice that creates “unfair economic advantage” to drivers who are paid less, like illegal aliens.
AmericanTruckers.com likens the practice to steel dumping, which led to a “distortion in steel prices, making it impossible for local steel producers to compete.” Likewise, American truckers suffer because domestic companies “cannot fairly compete against” foreign workers.
The website also points out that the practice of employing illegal alien workers can also be a national security issue:
Just as a reliance on foreign steel can be a national security issue, particularly in times of conflict or when supply chains are disrupted, the reliance on foreign truck drivers who might not have the same level of investment or loyalty to the U.S. can compromise the logistics network’s reliability and security. This is especially critical in scenarios requiring swift and dependable domestic logistics.
Fraudulently obtained commercial driver’s licenses can also endanger all road users because they allow unqualified drivers to operate large trucks.
Attorney General James Uthmeier commented on the scheme, linking it directly to the failures of the Biden administration’s border policies:
I think today is yet another example of how the Biden border policy puts American families at risk. Here you’ve got hundreds of of aliens that are cheating, that are breaking the law, that are buying driver’s licenses without taking the test, getting on the roads. Putting everybody in danger.
Uthmeier added that the scheme “is pretty widespread and an advanced operation ... and could be happening in a county somewhere else.”
Authorities confirmed that the investigation remains active, with further charges expected. Florida tax collector Chuck Perdue noted that enhancements to oversight and procedural safeguards are forthcoming to protect license integrity.
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