Investigations

On December 4, 2018, Aziz Akhrorov, a truck driver based in Queens, New York, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Brooklyn, New York, to time served, a $1,000 fine, and a $100 special court assessment.

 

On May 10, 2018, Akhrorov pleaded guilty to conspiring to unlawfully produce commercial driver’s licenses (CDL). DOT regulations require States to test the knowledge and skills of all CDL applicants to help reduce or prevent truck and bus accidents, fatalities, and injuries. From approximately April 2014 to around December 2016, Akhrorov and Taras Chabanovych—a Florida-based co-conspirator—undermined the CDL-testing procedures at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Akhrorov recruited New York-based CDL applicants, most of whom were of Russian descent, and referred them to Chabanovych. For as much as $2,600 per referral, Chabanovych helped the CDL applicants fraudulently obtain documentation establishing bogus Florida residency, which allowed them to sit for the exam. He also provided sophisticated video and audio devices, which were concealed on the applicants and transmitted the CDL test to him offsite. Then, through an earpiece, Chabanovych gave the applicants the correct answers. Due to this cheating scheme, Florida CDL learner’s permits and photo IDs were issued to the applicants, who later exchanged them for New York CDLs.

 

Chabanovych pleaded guilty and was sentenced on October 26, 2018.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI).