Press Release
Defendants in Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Identity Theft Scheme Agree to Plead Guilty
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts
Former RMV clerks agree to plead guilty and be sentenced to prison
BOSTON – Five individuals have agreed to plead guilty in federal court in Boston for their roles in a scheme to produce false identification documents through the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV).
Evelyn Medina, 56, of Boston; Annette Gracia, 37, of Boston; Kimberly Jordan, 33, of Randolph; David Brimage, 46, of Boston; and Bivian Yohanny Brea, 41, of Boston, have agreed to plead guilty to one count of producing without lawful authority an identification document or a false identification document. At the time of their arrest, Medina, Gracia, Jordan, and Brimage were all employed as clerks at the Haymarket Registry of Motor Vehicles.
Angel Miguel Beltre Tejada, 32, a Dominican national illegally residing in Jamaica Plain, was charged in an Information with one count of aggravated identity theft. The defendants were arrested in August 2017.
In October 2015, law enforcement received an anonymous letter alleging that a corrupt RMV employee was providing Massachusetts identifications and drivers’ licenses to individuals who were using false identifications. An investigation revealed that several Haymarket RMV clerks – Medina, Gracia, Jordan, and Brimage – were working with Brea and Tejada to fraudulently provide Massachusetts licenses and identification cards to illegal aliens for cash.
The scheme involved several steps. Tejada and Brea would obtain identification documents belonging to United States citizens in Puerto Rico and sell them to clients who were seeking legitimate identities in Massachusetts. These clients included illegal aliens, individuals who were previously deported, and an individual who admitted to previously facing drug charges. Tejada would receive several hundred dollars in cash each time he sold identification documents. Brea received up to $2,700 per identity for her role in the scheme, which included helping clients obtain the documents and facilitating their acquisition of Massachusetts identity documents.
Typically, Brea and the client brought the stolen identities to the Haymarket RMV, where Medina, Gracia, Jordan, and/or Brimage would accept hundreds of dollars in cash to illegally issue authentic RMV documents, including Massachusetts licenses and ID cards. The clerks also accepted bribes to use the RMV’s system to run queries, including Social Security number audits, to confirm that the identities the clients were stealing actually belonged to verifiable individuals.
If the Court accepts the binding plea agreements for the clerks, Medina will be sentenced to 15 months in prison; Gracia to one year and one day in prison; Jordan to eight months in prison; and Brimage to eight months in prison. They all face two years of supervised release. Brea, who has entered a non-binding plea agreement, faces a sentence of no greater than 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft for which Tejada is charged provides for a mandatory minimum of two years in prison. Tejada will also be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; and Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. HSI’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris of Weinreb’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.
Updated October 2, 2017
Topic
Public Corruption
Component