Garden City DMV fraud scheme: 7 charged in alleged commercial driver's license cheating plot, officials say

An eagle-eyed Garden City Department of Motor Vehicles worker who noticed a woman taking a test for a commercial driver’s license instead of its intended male applicant led authorities to charge a 51-count fraud indictment against three DMV employees and four others.

Under the scheme, wannabe truck drivers would pay between $1,500 and $3,000 for a surrogate to take the test for them, officials said.

Jamie Middleton, 35, a woman who would sometimes disguise herself with a fake beard and mustache, took the exam nine times between March and September 2023 for seven clients, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly and New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang at a news conference Thursday in Mineola. She passed the test eight times, Donnelly said.

Her sister, Kanaisha Middleton, 33, was a DMV supervisor who allegedly facilitated the scheme, according to prosecutors.

Appearance discrepancies

Department of Motor Vehicles representatives Satoya Mitchell and Tawanna Whitfield, who were responsible for verifying the identity of the test taker, allegedly got a cut of the money to usher Jamie Middleton into the testing area despite the discrepancies in her appearance, prosecutors said.

On May 23, 2023, Middleton took two exams five minutes apart — one for Rene Sarduy, a Town of Hempstead Highway Department worker, and another for aspiring truck driver Omesh Mohan, prosecutors allege.

Both men then went to DMV branches in Springfield Gardens, Queens, and Bethpage days later to pick up their interim permits, according to authorities.

The permits are good for one year, during which time the holder is supposed to take and pass a road test to get a full commercial driver's license, or CDL. Prosecutors said Mohan had failed his road test.

James Nurse, a Town of Hempstead sanitation worker, got his permit on Aug. 16, 2023, in Massapequa, two days after Middleton took the exam for him in Garden City, according to authorities.

Nurse was able to pass his road test, prosecutors said, and obtained his full CDL in September 2023. He used his new license to drive recycling trucks for Hempstead’s Sanitation Department.

Jamie and Kanaisha Middleton, Mitchell and Whitfield were all arraigned earlier this month on charges of impairing the integrity of a government licensing exam, corruption and falsifying business records, according to court records. They all pleaded not guilty.

Mohan, Nurse and Sarduy were hit with charges of falsifying business records in addition to tampering with public records. They also pleaded not guilty, court records show

Something amiss

A DMV supervisor noticed something amiss about Jamie Middleton’s appearance on June 9 and tipped off the New York State inspector general.

“He noticed on one of the days she was taking the test,” Donnelly said. “I believe that it was, it looked and appeared to be a woman taking the test instead of a male who was supposed to be taking the test.”

Surveillance video provided by the prosecutor’s office show Middleton’s long manicured fingernails as she steps to the counter of the DMV branch to take the test for a man. The district attorney also said Middleton would also wear baggy work clothes and medical masks to hide her identity.

“Almost like a spy in an espionage thriller, Jamie Middleton donned multiple disguises as she claimed to be different male applicants sitting for the CDL test,” the district attorney said. “These disguises were all about selling this scheme for the cameras and to the other honest DMV employees who weren't in on it.”

Some DMV employees have been suspended, the district attorney said.

Kanaisha Middleton’s attorney, Jacob Uriel, framed the case as a hostile workplace issue.

“What this case is really about is a toxic culture inside the DMV,” Uriel said. “Disgruntled former employees of Ms. Middleton – people who once worked under her – are now pointing fingers to avoid responsibility for their own actions. Ms. Middleton left that environment long before these accusations surfaced and built a new career for herself. There’s a reason we have a presumption of innocence. Let’s wait for the final act before deciding what really happened.”

Workers terminated

A Hempstead spokesman said the workers were fired for their alleged involvement.

"When the Town learns of allegations of fraud on the part of a municipal employee, it takes immediate action,” spokesman Brian Devine said in an email. “As such, the Town has taken proactive steps to effectuate the termination of any individuals implicated in the District Attorney's investigation. The Town continues to work together with the District Attorney to ensure that all drivers who are operating commercial vehicles in the Town of Hempstead have the proper and legitimate documentation."

Nicholas Carra, the defense attorney for Mitchell, cautioned the case has just been charged and his firm is still reviewing the evidence and formulating a defense.

Sarduy's attorney said he would be exonerated of the charges.

"Mr. Sarduy denies the allegations and looks forward to addressing the matter and clearing his name in court," attorney Steven Gaitman, of Gaitman & Russo, told Newsday.

The attorney for Whitfield declined to comment. The lawyers representing Jamie Middleton and Mohan could not be reached for a response to the allegations.