MINEOLA, N.Y. (WABC) — Seven people, including New York DMV employees, have been indicted in a driver’s license cheating scheme that prosecutors say allowed unqualified applicants to obtain commercial driving permits on Long Island.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office announced the 51-count felony indictment Thursday, alleging that the defendants conspired to cheat on commercial driver’s license (CDL) exams and process fraudulent permits for no-show applicants at the Garden City DMV branch.
Among those charged is Kanaisha Middleton, a DMV supervisor, and her sister Jamie Middleton, who allegedly took multiple permit exams on behalf of others — sometimes wearing disguises, including fake facial hair, while posing as male applicants.
“She forgot to take off her fake nails,” quipped District Attorney Anne Donnelly, adding that the deception was quickly uncovered. A whistleblower supervisor inside the DMV helped expose the operation.
Investigators say the defendants charged up to $3,000 per fraudulent permit test. Two DMV employees allegedly worked the counters to usher the fake test takers through without scrutiny.
Three drivers reportedly obtained commercial permits through the scheme — including James Nurse, 42, who later worked for the Town of Hempstead Recycling Center as a truck driver for over a year before officials discovered his license was illegitimate.
“A government employee licensed only through a lie, driving a massive truck through our streets,” Donnelly said, calling the case a serious public safety threat. The town has since moved to terminate Nurse.
Inspector General Lucy Lang emphasized that the DMV’s testing safeguards exist to protect the public: “Bypassing that safeguard is far from a harmless shortcut — it’s a dangerous threat to public safety.”
The defendants face charges including impairing the integrity of a government examination, tampering with public records, falsifying business records, and corrupting the government. If convicted, they face up to seven years in prison.
All have been arraigned and are due back in court in November.
