Driving School Owner Pleads Guilty to RMV Bribery Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Brockton man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to charges that he bribed a road test examiner to issue driver’s licenses to individuals who did not pass or, in some cases, even take road tests at the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) in Brockton.

Carlos Cardoso, 71, pleaded guilty to one count of honest services mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11, 2025. In May 2024, Cardoso was indicted by a federal grand jury.

Cardoso, the owner of a driving school, paid cash bribes totaling more than $20,000 to a road test examiner at the Brockton RMV service center to misrepresent that certain driver’s license applicants had passed their road test when, in fact, they had not. Some of the applicants did not even show up to take the test. As a result of the fraud, the RMV mailed driver’s licenses to unqualified applicants.

The charge of honest services mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Brian C. Gallagher, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers and Adam Deitch of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.