Investigations

On April 23, 2019, James Austin pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Eighth Judicial District Court, Uintah County, Utah, to an indeterminate term not to exceed 5 years. He was convicted of forgery for fraudulently obtaining a Utah commercial driver’s license (CDL). The court ordered him to serve his sentence concurrently with his sentence in an unrelated case in Kentucky, where he is currently incarcerated.

 

The investigation revealed that prior to February 2017, Austin held a CDL in Colorado, but it was revoked because he was a habitual traffic offender. On or about February 21, 2017, he used a false identity to apply for a Utah CDL and submitted fraudulently obtained documents, including a Maine driver’s license and a Colorado CDL Driving Skills Test Completion Statement form. He also provided a false date of birth, Social Security number, and signature. He completed the application process on or about March 14, 2017, and obtained a fraudulent Utah CDL with the false identity.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with the Utah Department of Public Safety.