News Release
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island
November 12, 2008
Former RI DMV clerk convicted of producing fraudulent licenses
A federal jury today found Dolores Rodriguez LaFlamme, a former employee of the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles, guilty of producing fraudulent drivers’ licenses that she and coconspirators sold to individuals who were ineligible to legally obtain licenses or were trying to hide their true identities.
United States Attorney Robert Clark Corrente announced the verdict, which the jury returned in U.S. District Court, Providence, following a four-day trial before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi. The jury deliberated for about an hour and a half.
During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard W. Rose and Richard B. Myrus presented evidence that, between August 2006 and October 2007, LaFlamme used her position as a license clerk at the DMV to fraudulently produce 35 drivers’ licenses. She sold the licenses through middlemen to customers who needed false licenses either because they couldn’t pass a written driver’s license exam, or because they needed licenses in an alias to hide their true identities. The price for a fraudulent license was as much as $2,700.
According to the evidence, LaFlamme produced the phony licenses by manipulating the DMV’s process for issuing licenses to individuals with existing licenses from other states. Such an individual doesn’t have to go through the normal testing process, but rather applies for a Rhode Island license and surrenders the out-of-state license.
The evidence showed that, for the fraudulent licenses she produced, the drivers did not fill out applications with the DMV and did not have licenses in the states where they claimed they did.
A government informant testified that he bought a fraudulent license while posing as a drug dealer who needed an alias. He also testified that he said that, if the deal worked out, he would then buy additional fraudulent licenses for the rest of his drug-dealing crew.
An investigation by the Rhode Island State Police uncovered the fraud. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the FBI and the enforcement unit of the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles also participated.
The jury found LaFlamme guilty of one count of conspiracy to produce fraudulent identity documents, six counts of fraudulently producing identity documents, and five counts of aggravated identity theft. The maximum penalties for each count of conspiracy and document production is 15 year imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Aggravated identity theft – which is using an individual’s identity to commit another felony – carries a penalty of two-years imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence imposed. Judge Lisi scheduled sentencing for February 20.
Since her arrest in October 2007, LaFlamme, 41, a native of the Dominican Republic, has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In addition to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rose and Myrus, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Hebert contributed to the prosecution.