{"id":22447,"date":"2023-12-25T14:47:43","date_gmt":"2023-12-25T14:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=22447"},"modified":"2023-12-25T14:47:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-25T14:47:43","slug":"former-tennessee-official-and-spouse-plead-guilty-to-illegally-producing-and-selling-hundreds-of-fake-drivers-licenses-to-illegal-immigrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=22447","title":{"rendered":"Former Tennessee Official and Spouse Plead Guilty to Illegally Producing and Selling \u2018Hundreds\u2019 of Fake Driver\u2019s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Knoxville couple admitted to conspiring to create illegal identification documents.<\/p>\n

Cheryl Huff, 49, and Mario Paz-Mejia, 50, entered guilty pleas in the federal court on Thursday for their roles in a scheme to produce hundreds of counterfeit Tennessee driver\u2019s licenses and identification cards.<\/p>\n

In the Eastern District of Tennessee\u2019s U.S. District Court, Cheryl Huff and Mario Paz-Mejia faced legal repercussions under Judge Katherine A. Crytzer.<\/p>\n

Sentencing is scheduled for May 24, 2024, where each individual could receive up to 15 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.<\/p>\n

Cheryl Huff served as the District Manager for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDSHS). In her position, she was responsible for the issuance of legitimate driver\u2019s licenses and identification cards in the Greater Knoxville area, according to the Department of Justice<\/a> (DOJ) news release.<\/p>\n

Mario Paz-Mejia played the intermediary role by soliciting individuals, primarily non-citizens and non-Tennessee residents, offering them illegal access to Tennessee documentation for a hefty sum of $2,500.<\/p>\n

More from the DOJ<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Using his association with Huff, Paz-Mejia represented to his customers that, in return for $2,500, Paz-Mejia could obtain for them a Tennessee driver\u2019s license or identification card.<\/p>\n

Paz-Mejia also assisted his customers in obtaining false citizenship and residency documents\u2014two requirements to obtain a Tennessee driver\u2019s license\u2014including fraudulent lease agreements to establish proof of Tennessee residency, and false birth certificates, Social Security cards, and driver\u2019s licenses from other states and U.S. territories to establish proof of citizenship or legal residency in the United States.<\/p>\n

Huff knew, or deliberately ignored a high probability, that Paz-Mejia was helping his customers obtain false citizenship and residency documents and that Paz-Mejia charged his customers money to obtain a Tennessee driver\u2019s license or identification card.<\/p>\n

Huff used her access to TDSHS\u2019s internal software to confirm that the names and information on the false citizenship and residency documents used by Paz-Mejia\u2019s customers could be used to obtain a Tennessee driver\u2019s license or identification card.<\/p>\n

For example, on June 23, 2021, Paz-Mejia texted Huff the name, date of birth, and personal information used on false identification documents, asking Huff to \u201ccheck that please.\u201d\u00a0 Huff responded, \u201cAll of these are not on file.\u00a0 They\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Paz-Mejia\u2019s customers acquired false citizenship and residency documents, Paz-Mejia arranged to meet them at a Knoxville-area DSC before business hours.\u00a0 With Huff\u2019s assistance, Paz-Mejia escorted his customers into DSCs before business hours, including through a backdoor employee-only entrance.<\/p>\n

Once Paz-Mejia and his customers were inside, Huff initiated driver\u2019s license applications for the customers using TDSHS software.\u00a0 Huff also instructed subordinate DSC employees to complete applications and issue driver\u2019s licenses to many of Paz-Mejia\u2019s customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbusing a position of public trust to commit any federal crime, including conspiracy to unlawfully produce false identification documents, undermines the public\u2019s confidence in government functions and creates a serious security risk,\u201d said United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee Francis M. Hamilton III.\u00a0 \u201cOur office will aggressively prosecute government employees who abuse their trusted employment positions for personal gain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply disappointed in the actions of a former Tennessee Driver Services District Manager and others who betrayed the trust and tarnished the reputation of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security,\u201d said Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Jeff Long.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank the departmental employees for having the courage to alert and cooperate with the Tennessee Highway Patrol\u2019s Criminal Investigation Division on this case involving one of their co-workers.\u00a0 Our agency cooperates and works closely with federal law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney\u2019s Office to pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

This prosecution is the result of an ongoing investigation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol\u2019s Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Secret Service.<\/p>\n

The post Former Tennessee Official and Spouse Plead Guilty to Illegally Producing and Selling \u2018Hundreds\u2019 of Fake Driver\u2019s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants<\/a> appeared first on The Gateway Pundit<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Knoxville couple admitted to conspiring to create illegal identification documents. Cheryl Huff, 49, and Mario Paz-Mejia, 50,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Tennessee Official and Spouse Plead Guilty to Illegally Producing and Selling \u2018Hundreds\u2019 of Fake Driver\u2019s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants - Sasquatch News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=22447\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Tennessee Official and Spouse Plead Guilty to Illegally Producing and Selling \u2018Hundreds\u2019 of Fake Driver\u2019s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants - Sasquatch News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Knoxville couple admitted to conspiring to create illegal identification documents. 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