Married Couple Plead Guilty In Fake Drivers’ License Scheme
Two people have plead guilty in Federal Court in Knoxville to one count of of conspiracy to produce, without lawful authority, identification documents or false identification documents. 49 year old Cheryl Huff and 50 year old Mario Paz-Mejia, a married couple from Knoxville, face up to 15 years in Federal prison, $250,000 in fines after their guilty plea. According to court documents, Huff was a District Manager for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which issues Tennessee driver’s licenses and identification cards at Driver Service Centers across the state. Huff managed and supervised DSC employees in the Greater Knoxville area and had authority to issue driver’s licenses and application cards. Paz-Mejia used his wife’s position to their personal advantage as he recruited non-US or Tennessee citizens and told them for $2,500, he could obtain for them a Tennessee driver’s license or identification card.
Paz-Mejia also assisted his customers in obtaining false citizenship and residency documents, two requirements to obtain a Tennessee driver’s license. Those include creating fraudulent lease agreements to establish proof of Tennessee residency, false birth certificates, Social Security cards, and drivers’ licenses from other states.
After Paz-Mejia’s customers acquired false citizenship and residency documents, he would then meet them at a Knoxville-area Drivers’ Center before business hours and get them through a backdoor employee-only entrance. Once inside, Huff would initiate driver’s license applications using Department of Safety software. Huff also instructed subordinate DSC employees to complete applications and issue those fraudulent driver’s licenses to the non-citizens. Sentencing for Huff and Paz-Mejia is set for May 24 in US District Court in Knoxville.