| TRENTON
– Attorney General Zulima V. Farber
today announced that two Motor Vehicle Commission
(MVC) clerks at the Morristown MVC agency
and an alleged “broker” have
been arraigned on charges of selling driver’s
licenses to unauthorized persons, following
a four-month investigation by the Division
of Criminal Justice and the MVC.
All
three defendants were arraigned this morning
before Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent
Ahto in Morris County. The two clerks allegedly
issued New Jersey digital driver’s
licenses to individuals who paid several
thousand dollars per license to the broker
and who were not required to provide the
MVC with any of the required identification
documents to demonstrate their legal authority
to obtain a license. The broker allegedly
gave a share of the money paid for each
unauthorized license to the clerk who issued
it.
“Document
fraud of this kind is a serious crime with
the potential to undermine public safety
and security,” said Attorney General
Farber. “We will continue to aggressively
investigate such crimes and prosecute the
individuals involved to the full extent
of the law.”
“This
investigation illustrates the significant
role DCJ investigators and local police
departments play everyday in New Jersey’s
effort to stop motor vehicle-related document
fraud,” MVC Chief Administrator Sharon
A. Harrington said. “MVC’s resolve
is continued and cooperative vigilance.”
“Investigators
from the Division of Criminal Justice and
the Motor Vehicle Commission were able to
infiltrate the alleged corrupt activities
of these MVC employees and their broker
in order to bring them to justice,”
said Division of Criminal Justice Director
Gregory A. Paw. “Our investigation
into this alleged document fraud scheme
is continuing.”
Paw
said all three defendants were arrested
Saturday at the MVC agency on Speedwell
Avenue in Morristown by Division of Criminal
Justice investigators and members of the
Morristown Police Department. He identified
the defendants as:
- Tressa
V. Schumacher, 36, Wharton. MVC clerk.
Charged with participating in a pattern
of official misconduct, official misconduct,
conspiracy and tampering with public
records. In custody in Morris County
Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
- Trucinder
“Trudy” Clark, 36, Morristown.
MVC clerk. Charged with participating
in a pattern of official misconduct,
official misconduct, conspiracy and
tampering with public records. In custody
in Morris County Jail in lieu of $100,000
bail.
-
Iftikar Shaida, 54, of Morris Plains.
Allegedly brokered sales of unauthorized
licenses. Charged with bribery, participating
in a pattern of official misconduct,
official misconduct, conspiracy and
tampering with public records. In custody
in Morris County Jail in lieu of $200,000
bail.
During
the investigation, it was revealed that
at least 15 unauthorized licenses allegedly
were issued by the clerks. As part of the
investigation, video surveillance recordings
were made of some transactions involving
the two clerks and the broker at the Morristown
MVC agency.
The
two clerks have been suspended without pay
by the MVC.
The
investigation was conducted by State Investigator
Nick Olenick and Supervising State Investigator
Daniel O’Brien of the Division of
Criminal Justice and Investigator Jack Hartwick
of the MVC. Deputy Attorney General Debra
Conrad is prosecuting the case.
The
defendants are presumed innocent of the
charges unless and until proven guilty in
a court of law.
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