Former Arlington County Employee Sentenced For Taking Bribes |
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia
9 June 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Francisco Samayoa Hernandez (“Samayoa”), 33, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for receiving bribes in connection with his work as a tax assessor supervisor at the Arlington County Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Select office. Samayoa also was ordered to pay approximately $21,000 in restitution to the DMV and to forfeit $11,480 in bribe payments to the government.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Samayoa pleaded guilty on March 18, 2014. According to court documents, from July 2012 through November 2013, Samayoa received $11,480 in bribes from a vehicle exporter in exchange for providing vehicle titles and falsifying DMV paperwork that allowed the exporter to avoid paying state motor vehicle sales and use tax in connection with the registration and titling of various luxury automobiles. In exchange for the bribes, Samayoa enabled the exporter to avoid paying approximately $25,000 due to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the registration and titling of a Lamborghini and multiple Ferraris, Porsches and Mercedes. Samayoa also enabled another individual to avoid paying approximately $16,536 in state motor vehicle sales and use tax in connection with the registration and titling of twoLamborghinis.
Samayoa was an Arlington County employee, and the Arlington County Commissioner of Revenue contracts with the DMV to provide vehicle-related services at its local office.
Samayoa also served as a straw buyer for the exporter and purchased three BMWs in his name. In connection with these transactions, Samayoa falsely certified to a dealership that he was not purchasing the vehicle for export, and the dealership relied on that certification in making the sale.
This case was investigated jointly by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Virginia DMV Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Law Enforcement Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson prosecuted the case.
Any person who believes they may have information regarding public corruption in the northern Virginia area is encouraged to call the FBI’s Northern Virginia Public Corruption Hotline at 703-686-6225 or send an email to NOVAPC@ic.fbi.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.