Investigations

On November 8, Aaron G. Hynes, Kuna, Idaho, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Boise, Idaho, to 18 months’ imprisonment and 2 years’ supervised release for making false statements to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment and $32,439 in restitution. In July 2017, Hynes pleaded guilty to a one-count information that alleged he filed a false and fictitious application with FMCSA for the purpose of obtaining a DOT registration number.

 

Hynes solicited assistance from computer programmers to create a computer program that would automatically fill out at least 10,000 applications for DOT numbers on the FMCSA website, using false and fictitious names, addresses, and telephone numbers of applicants and company officials. His purpose was to fraudulently obtain DOT numbers and sell them to motor carriers for a profit.

In October 2015, Hynes caused to be submitted to the FMCSA, through its website, approximately 2,100 fictitious applications for DOT numbers. The submittal of the applications caused FMCSA to register fictitious applicants and issue approximately 2,100 DOT numbers.

 

Hyne’s activities caused FMCSA to suffer a loss of $51,389. More than half of this loss is attributable to the time and resources FMSCA expended to identify and deactivate the fraudulently obtained DOT numbers. The remainder of the loss relates to the implementation of preventative measures by FMCSA.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with assistance from FMCSA.