Former Texas D.P.S. Employee Arrested and Indicted in Fraudulent Drivers License Scheme |
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas
27 October 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In San Antonio, federal authorities have arrested two individuals indicted on federal charges in connection with a scheme to provide drivers’ licenses to undocumented aliens announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
A six-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed yesterday, charges 53-year-old Jose A. Ytuarte, a former Texas Department of Public Safety Customer Service Representative in Hondo, TX, and 44-year-old Azeez Mistry of San Antonio with one count of conspiracy to transfer false identification documents, one count of transfer of false identification documents, and four counts of use of an interstate communication facility in aid of unlawful activity. According to the indictment, the defendants conspired from May 2013 to July 2015 to transfer identification documents, namely drivers licenses, knowing that such documents were produced without lawful authority. The indictment alleges that Mistry would direct undocumented and documented aliens who could not get a driver’s license legally to Ytuarte. Mistry would charge between $1,000 and $5,000 for each license and then pay a portion of that fee to Ytuarte as a cash bribe. The indictment further alleges that Ytuarte would input materially fraudulent information, namely that the individual was born in the United States, into the DPS computer system in order to process and issue a driver’s license to each undocumented alien.
Authorities arrested Mistry yesterday; Ytuarte, on Friday. Both have been released on bond pending further court proceedings.
Upon conviction, the defendants face up to 15 years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Texas Rangers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant United States Attorney Christina Playton is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.