Jackson Man Pleads Guilty to Commercial Driver’s License Fraud

Jackson, Miss. –Andre Cooper, 39, of Jackson, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves to a one-count federal information charging him with making false statements, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Marlies Gonzalez with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General Regional S.

Cooper previously worked for a company that provided training and certification to individuals seeking commercial driver’s licenses ("CDLs"). His employment only authorized certification to those that were students of the company. However, Cooper provided paperwork to those who wanted a CDL that were not students of his employer. He prepared paperwork representing that the applicant had taken the road skills test, when in fact they had not.

The fraudulent paperwork was given to individuals seeking to obtain a CDL in exchange for payment to Cooper. Such fraudulent paperwork would be presented by these individuals to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety in order to secure a commercial driver’s license. A review of the commercial drivers’ paperwork in Mississippi showed that some of the applicants could not have achieved the results on the paperwork. Some Commercial Driver’s License holders were interviewed and said they had never taken the test and just paid Cooper for the paperwork.

Cooper is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Reeves on June 21, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Chalk.