John R. Hagerty 609-984-1936

Trenton -- New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey announced that three former Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) employees and a private security guard have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from six years to 364 days to serving hundreds of hours of community service for improperly selling or providing MVC documents to individuals unable to legally obtain the identification and/or for stealing customer payments while employed at MVC agencies in Hudson and Mercer Counties.

In announcing the sentences, Attorney General Harvey noted that in 2004 the Division of Criminal Justice - MVC Document Fraud Initiative successfully prosecuted more than 100 individuals, including 16 former MVC employees, on charges of official misconduct, forgery, theft, identity theft, gifts to public servants, and related criminal violations. As a result, Division of Criminal Justice prosecutors obtained convictions and/or guilty pleas with resulting sentences ranging from ten years in State Prison to hundreds of hours of community service. The Document Fraud Initiative targets corrupt government and public employees who sell their office for profit as well as individuals and organized criminal enterprises in the business of obtaining and selling legitimate and/or fraudulent motor vehicle and identification documents. The Document Fraud Initiative was formed in late-2003 by combining investigative resources from the Division of Criminal Justice - Organized Crime & Racketeering Bureau, the Motor Vehicle Commission, and resources from New Jersey State Police investigative units.

“These sentences are significant and demonstrate that prosecutions targeting corrupt employees will result in prison terms. The Division of Criminal Justice will continue to identify and prosecute anyone - at any level - who allows greed to overcome public service responsibilities,” said Attorney General Harvey. “The very existence of corrupt public employees strikes at the core of our efforts to assure integrity, security and public safety for all New Jerseyans. New Jersey’s official identification documents are not for sale and those who profit by subverting the legal process will be aggressively prosecuted.”

Vaughn L. McKoy, Director, Division of Criminal Justice, said that Jarmaine Ravenell, 22, formerly of West State Street, Trenton, Mercer County, was sentenced by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Maryann K. Bielamowicz on Dec. 17 to six and one-half years in State Prison and ordered to repay MVC $1,000 in stolen funds. Ravenell forfeited his public position and is forever barred from holding future government employment. Ravenell was terminated from his MVC position in January.

As a result of the Oct. 26 guilty plea to official misconduct, Ravenell, a former clerk at the Baker’s Basin MVC facility in Mercer County, admitted using his official position as a public servant to “commit theft of monies paid to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission by retaining said monies rather than providing them to the Commission.” In pleading guilty, Ravenell admitted that between Dec. 16, 2003 and Jan. 12, 2004, to stealing more than $1,000 in MVC customer receipts. Ravenell was arrested on July 15 by State Investigators assigned to the Division of Criminal Justice after the investigation determined that he was stealing MVC cash receipts instead of placing the funds in the cash register.

Also sentenced on Dec. 17 were former MVC clerks Tasha Ruiz, 23, Paterson Plank Road, Union City, Hudson County, and Maxine Mobley, 35, Garfield Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County. Both Ruiz and Mobley, former clerks assigned to the Jersey City MVC Agency located at 438 Summit Ave., were sentenced by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Kevin G. Callahan to 364 days in county jail and two years probation. Ruiz and Mobley forfeited their public positions and are forever barred from holding future government employment. Mobley pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal conspiracy on Sept. 9, admitting that she conspired with Ruiz to provide an MVC photo identification document to an individual unable to meet the MVC’s six point identification requirements. Ruiz, who actually provided the improperly obtained identification document, pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 to a charge of criminal conspiracy and tampering with public records. Ruiz and Mobley will surrender to Judge Callahan on Feb. 14, 2005 to begin their county jail sentences.

On Dec. 19, Jadyn Robles, 23, Audubon Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, a former private security guard assigned to the MVC Jersey City agency, was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service and to serve two years probation by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Kevin G. Callahan. Robles pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 to falsifying or tampering with public records. In pleading guilty, Robles admitted that on two separate occasions in March and April of 2004, that she accepted up to $50.00 to provide correct answers to the written MVC drivers examination. The investigation was conducted by undercover state investigators assigned to the Division of Criminal Justice.

“Efforts to investigate and prosecute MVC employee theft and related document fraud focus on illegally obtained and/or fraudulent driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations, insurance cards, driver permits and related identification documents such as U.S. passports, social security cards, birth certificates, county ID cards and other official documents,” Director McKoy said. “The Document Fraud Initiative continues to target corrupt public employees who have chosen to violate the law and to steal from the public coffers in order to satisfy their own personal greed. Additionally, ongoing investigations will continue to uncover areas of susceptibility and will prosecute anyone involved in the black market trade of illegitimate identification documents. ”

Attorney General Harvey noted that investigations by the Document Fraud Initiative have uncovered various schemes and criminal enterprises geared at obtaining illegal and/or fraudulent documents. Significantly, the Document Fraud Initiative uncovered evidence that various individuals and criminal enterprises specialize in providing fraudulently issued identification documents to individuals illegally residing in the United States in order that they can continue their illegal residency. In other instances, the initiative uncovered a system of independent “brokers” who recruit customers - usually persons who cannot legally obtain valid New Jersey driving credentials or persons seeking identification documents, and who are willing to pay up to $3,000 for a valid New Jersey drivers license or other official document. Many of the illegal schemes are successful due to the complicity and participation of corrupt MVC clerks and other government employees who solicit and receive monies to illegally provide documents.

Attorney General Harvey and Director McKoy noted that the Division of Criminal Justice has established a toll-free “Corruption Tip Line” for the public to report document fraud, public corruption, and other illegal activity. The statewide “Corruption Tip Line” is: 1-866-TIPS-4CJ. Additionally, the public can log-on to the Division of Criminal Justice Web site at www.njdcj.org to electronically report suspected wrongdoing. All information remains confidential.

The prosecutions were coordinated by Deputy Attorney’s General Philip S. Aronow, Debra Conrad and Erin Callahan assigned to the Division of Criminal Justice - MVC Document Fraud Initiative. The investigations were conducted by State Investigators George Arroyo, Luisa Sanchez, Nicholas Olenick, Frederic Moore and Wayne Price of the Division of Criminal Justice - MVC Document Fraud Initiative.

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