SPRINGFIELD, Nov 9, 2007 - A former tester at a now-closed trucking school in West Plains pleaded guilty of Friday for providing fraudulent commercial driver licenses. Orbin May worked for the South Central Career Center Truck Driver Training School. May admitted he gave incomplete or inadequate driving tests. He also admitted fraudulently certifying that applicants had legitimately passed tests.

Two men from Somalia also admitted to participating in the conspiracy by transporting students to West Plains to obtain the licenses for large numbers of citizens from Somali and Bosnia.
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Here's an edited news release from the office of John Wood, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri:

Orbin Dale May, 64, of West Plains, andAhmed Muhidin Sharif, 28, a citizen of Somalia living in Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge James England to the charge contained in a federal indictment on Sept. 20, 2006. Abdiwahab Mohamud Mohamed, 38, a citizen of Somalia living in Minneapolis, pleaded guilty on Nov. 1, 2007, for his role in the conspiracy.

The co-defendants each admitted they were involved in a mail fraud conspiracy from April 1, 2003, to Feb. 6, 2006, that defrauded others by denying the public the right of honest service of contract employees of the state of Missouri. The conspiracy involved fraudulent testing for commercial driver’s licenses on the part of the South Central Career Center Truck Driver Training School (SCCC) in West Plains.May was employed at SCCC, which at that time was a division of the West Plains School District, to train truck drivers and administer CDL driving tests.

A commercial driver’s license (CDL) allows a person to operate heavy commercial trucks – such as 18-wheel tractors and trailers – and buses on the public highways. In order to obtain a CDL, a driver-applicant must first pass a written test. If the driver-applicant passes the written test, he is issued a temporary permit and must then take the practical “skills test” or “competency test” administered either by the Missouri State Highway Patrol or a third-party tester, such as SCCC. This second test requires the driver-applicant to physically demonstrate his knowledge and ability to inspect and safely drive a commercial vehicle. These tests are required and regulated by both federal and state laws.

May admitted he gave incomplete or inadequate driving tests and fraudulently certified that applicants had legitimately passed the driving tests. During the course of the conspiracy and in furtherance of the conspiracy,May submitted fraudulent CDL forms, indicating that applicants had successfully completed the competency test, to the SCCC office, which then mailed them to the Missouri Department of Revenue.May would provide the applicant with a copy of the certifying document that could be used to obtain the CDL at a Missouri Department of Revenue office.

   May also admitted that he received additional payment (above that which was required under law) to administer the tests, in order to ensure that applicants passed the CDL driving test.

Sharif participated in the conspiracy by transporting students from a truck-driving school to SCCC, knowing thatMay would fraudulently administer the competency tests.Sharif made about 15 trips in which he transported 70 to 80 students of Somali descent to West Plains in order to fraudulently obtain CDLs. Sharif knew the tests were being fraudulently administered byMay, and observedMay give incomplete or inadequate CDL driving tests to the students.

Mohamed, who had fraudulently obtained a CDL, directed students from the state of Minnesota in order to obtain fraudulent CDL licenses.

Source: KY3 News