Pennsylvania Husband and Wife Sentenced to Prison for Fraudulent Commercial Driver’s Licenses Scheme

WASHINGTON – A Pennsylvania husband and wife were sentenced yesterday to 30 months and 24 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in a scheme to provide out-of-state residents with Pennsylvania driver’s licenses and Pennsylvania commercial driver’s licenses (CDL), Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced today.

Vitaliy Kroshnev, 49, and his wife Tatyana, 46, of Richboro, Penn., were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Norma L. Shapiro. In addition to the prison terms, Judge Shapiro ordered three years of supervised release for each defendant and a forfeiture money judgment of $445,450.

Vitaliy and Tatyana Kroshnev owned and operated the International Training Academy (ITA). From 2007 to 2010, they arranged for hundreds of non-residents of Pennsylvania to fraudulently obtain Pennsylvania commercial driver’s licenses through the ITA. The Kroshnevs paid other members of the conspiracy, who lived in Pennsylvania, to allow out-of-state ITA clients to use the in-state home addresses as proof of Pennsylvania residency. They also employed corrupt translators to ensure Russian-speaking applicants passed the written portion of the CDL test, regardless of the applicants’ actual knowledge.

The couple pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce and aiding and abetting the production of an identification document without lawful authority. Vitaliy Kroshnev also pleaded guilty to making a material false statement and conspiracy to commit immigration fraud.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Labor and Michelle Morgan of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Margaret Vierbuchen of the Organized Crime and Gang Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.