Six people have been convicted in a bribery scheme that enabled more than 100 people to fraudulently obtain commercial driver’s licenses, the U.S Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana announced.
Mahmoud Alhattab, a restaurant owner, led a scheme in which Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants paid him an average of $5,000 to obtain unearned CDLs.
The scheme enabled applicants to bypass all three main federally-mandated steps of the CDL qualification process: the knowledge test, entry-level driver training, and the skills test.
The knowledge test, administered at the Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV), is a written examination covering vehicle safety systems, emergency situations, procedures for various maneuvers, and extreme driving conditions. Passing this test results in the issuance of a commercial learner’s permit, which is required before an applicant can proceed to training and the skills test.
“The convictions announced today underscore the grave danger posed by schemes that undermine the integrity of the commercial driver’s licensing process. Deliberately circumventing federally mandated safety requirements is not only unlawful—it puts everyone on our nation’s roadways at risk,” said Joseph Harris, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s Southern Region.
The six defendants each pleaded guilty to Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds, which is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. Sentencing is set for October 28, 2026,
Source: DOJ
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