Driving school owner sentenced for DMV license bribery scheme, US attorneys say

The owner of a driving school was sentenced Thursday for his involvement in bribing California Department of Motor Vehicles employees to provide commercial driver’s licenses for unqualified applicants, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jagpal “Paul” Singh of Los Angeles was sentenced to three years and three months for conspiracy to commit bribery, identity fraud, unauthorized use of a computer, and identification document fraud. According to court documents, Singh, 61, bribed two DMV employees to alter records in the database in Sacramento to show that applicants passed CDL testing requirements, when drivers had not passed or, in some cases, not taken the test.

Previous reporting by The Sacramento Bee documented a six-year probe by authorities to unravel the scheme, which included an undercover sting operation implicating eight people, and led to the revocation of more than 600 CDLs. For payments ranging between $2,000 to $5,000, participants of the scam could obtain a CDL without taking written or behind-the-wheel driving examinations.

The investigation was carried out by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.

According to court documents, two DMV employees, Lisa Terraciano and Kari Scattaglia, each pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the investigation. U.S. attorneys say several people tied to the driving school and a DMV employee are scheduled to go on trial on June 1, 2020. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.