Florida police officers shut down a massive fraud ring that was selling driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, with a press release from the attorney general confirming that several of the members of the ring were DMV employees who were issuing “an unusually large number” of licenses and accepting payment under the table.
For background, on June 12, 2025, the office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that Sheriff Tommy Ford of Bay County had taken down what was described as “an illegal alien driver’s license scheme.” The press release went on to explain that the investigation also revealed that the fraudsters were giving licenses to individuals who traveled from other parts of Florida.
In an official statement, Attorney General Uthmeier said, “Florida’s Sheriffs are on the front lines of our state’s fight against illegal immigration, and Sheriff Ford is rooting out the corruption they bring into our state.” The attorney general went on to issue a stern warning “to any illegal alien coming to Florida to commit further crimes,” saying, “We are going to find you, hold you accountable, and then send you back to where you came from.”
In addition, the press release explained that Bay County police had discovered that two DMV employees were issuing oddly large quantities of driver’s licenses. After examining security camera footage from the Bay County DMV, authorities found that the two employees were allowing illegal immigrants to bypass “the required tests to obtain a license legally.”
Moreover, according to the South Florida Reporter, Attorney General Uthmeier drew connections between the fraud ring and former President Joe Biden’s lax immigration policies, saying, “I think today is yet another example of how the Biden border policy puts American families at risk.”
Continuing, the attorney general pointed to the “hundreds of aliens” who were committing crimes by accepting fraudulent licences, who uthmeier described as “cheating…breaking the law…buying driver’s licenses without taking the test, getting on the roads, putting everybody in danger.”
Additionally, Sheriff Tommy Ford made additional comments regarding the investigation, explaining to reporters that the majority of the illegal aliens who accepted fraudulent driver’s licenses “had some type of status.” He clarified, “Some of that is the asylum status, which we know is a very controversial process, and doesn’t take a lot to get that status.”
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Importantly, according to the South Florida Reporter, Sheriff Ford said that several of the illegally-issued driver’s licenses were commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). To this point, the sheriff said, “Let me be clear, that putting untested, unqualified drivers, especially those with commercial licenses, on our roads is an unacceptable risk to every family in this state.” Responding to Sheriff Ford’s statement, the popular American Truckers X account wrote, “Florida is one of 10 states FLOODING the trucking industry with illegal foreign labor. This is happening EN MASSE across the U.S. RIGHT NOW!”
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