BOSTON — A Brockton man has pleaded guilty to bribing a road test examiner to issue driver’s licenses to people who did not pass, or even take road tests at the Registry of Motor Vehicles in Brockton.
Estevao Semedo, 61, of Brockton, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2023. Semedo was charged on March 2, 2023.
Semedo, the owner of a driving school, conspired to defraud the RMV into issuing driver’s licenses to applicants who did not pass the road test, Rollins said. Specifically, Semedo paid a road test examiner at the Brockton RMV service center to misrepresent to the RMV that certain driver’s license applicants had passed their road test when, in fact, they had not. Some of the applicants did not even show up to take the test.
As a result of the fraud, the RMV mailed driver’s licenses to unqualified applicants, Rollins said. In total, Semedo paid the road test examiner no less than $17,000 in bribes in exchange for fraudulent passing scores on road tests.
The charge of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The charging document also seeks a $17,000 forfeiture money judgment against Semedo.
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