News Releases

Former Maryland MVA employee pleads guilty to conspiracy to fraudulently produce and sell Maryland driver's licenses
Accepted bribes to issue licenses to applicants who had failed the written and driving tests

GREENBELT, Md. – Michael Anthony Peters, Jr. 29, of Riverdale, Md. pleaded guilty Friday to a conspiracy to produce and sell Maryland driver's licenses without lawful authority. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA).

"Michael Anthony Peters violated the public's trust and risked endangering our community by producing and issuing Maryland driver's licenses to individuals who could not or were not willing to legitimately pass the required MVA examination," said HSI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge William Winter. "This type of fraud poses a serious security vulnerability and could put the security of our communities and even our country at risk."

According to his plea agreement, Peters was an employee of the MVA assigned to the Largo Branch. Peters' duties included the issuance of Maryland driver's licenses. Peters admitted that from July through October 2007, he received payment in exchange for producing and issuing Maryland driver's licenses to individuals whom he knew had not passed the required tests. Many of these individuals were illegal aliens.

According to his plea agreement, Peters typically received approximately $300 as a bribe for each non-commercial driver's license and $400 as a bribe for each commercial driver's license he issued. Peters falsified MVA records to state that the applicants had passed the required tests and issued driver's licenses in their names. Over the course of the conspiracy, Peters produced at least 40 driver's licenses without lawful authority.

Peters faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 at his sentencing Dec. 18 before U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus. As part of his plea agreement, Peters will be required to pay restitution in the amount of $12,000.

The investigation was conducted by HSI Baltimore and the MVA Investigation and Security Services Division.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.