Philadelphia Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years in Prison for Scheme to Create Fake IDs and Bribe PennDOT Official

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania:

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Bakary Camara, 32, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 70 months’ incarceration and three years’ supervised release by United States District Judge John R. Padova for his scheme to produce fake Pennsylvania identification documents by bribing a state official. In February 2019, a jury convicted Camara of numerous charges, including conspiracy to unlawfully produce identification documents, bribery of an agent from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), misuse of a social security number, and aggravated identity theft.

According to evidence presented at trial, Camara bribed a PennDOT agent with cash payments in exchange for the issuance of driver’s licenses to dozens of foreign nationals who failed to take the required tests and failed to provide proof of residency. Some who received their license through Camara were new to the country, could not speak English, and were unfamiliar with the process of obtaining a driver’s license, while others could not pass the PennDOT knowledge or road tests. In particular, Camara fraudulently used another person’s social security number on proof of residency documents in an attempt to make it appear that two New York residents were residents of Pennsylvania.

Camara’s co-conspirator, the PennDOT agent, entered false information into the PennDOT system stating the individuals passed the required tests and met the residency requirements when they had not. The PennDOT agent then unlawfully issued driver’s licenses to those individuals. The scheme ran from at least April 2014 through May 2015. During that time, Camara unlawfully assisted at least 30 immigrants in obtaining Pennsylvania learner’s permits and driver’s licenses. Camara charged these individuals $300 to $7,000 for each Pennsylvania driver’s license. Camara provided the PennDOT official at least $5,100 in bribes.

“This kind of bribery and fraud is atrocious and an affront to public safety,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Government-issued identification should never be procured by fraud, but to provide fraudulent driver’s licenses to those who should not be operating a vehicle on our roads is incredibly dangerous. We will aggressively investigate and root out this type of unconscionable behavior.”

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiwana Wright.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Bakary Camara, 32, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 70 months’ incarceration and three years’ supervised release by United States District Judge John R. Padova for his scheme to produce fake Pennsylvania identification documents by bribing a state official. In February 2019, a jury convicted Camara of numerous charges, including conspiracy to unlawfully produce identification documents, bribery of an agent from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), misuse of a social security number, and aggravated identity theft.

According to evidence presented at trial, Camara bribed a PennDOT agent with cash payments in exchange for the issuance of driver’s licenses to dozens of foreign nationals who failed to take the required tests and failed to provide proof of residency. Some who received their license through Camara were new to the country, could not speak English, and were unfamiliar with the process of obtaining a driver’s license, while others could not pass the PennDOT knowledge or road tests. In particular, Camara fraudulently used another person’s social security number on proof of residency documents in an attempt to make it appear that two New York residents were residents of Pennsylvania.

Camara’s co-conspirator, the PennDOT agent, entered false information into the PennDOT system stating the individuals passed the required tests and met the residency requirements when they had not. The PennDOT agent then unlawfully issued driver’s licenses to those individuals. The scheme ran from at least April 2014 through May 2015. During that time, Camara unlawfully assisted at least 30 immigrants in obtaining Pennsylvania learner’s permits and driver’s licenses. Camara charged these individuals $300 to $7,000 for each Pennsylvania driver’s license. Camara provided the PennDOT official at least $5,100 in bribes.

“This kind of bribery and fraud is atrocious and an affront to public safety,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Government-issued identification should never be procured by fraud, but to provide fraudulent driver’s licenses to those who should not be operating a vehicle on our roads is incredibly dangerous. We will aggressively investigate and root out this type of unconscionable behavior.”

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiwana Wright.