People Were Paying a Ring Of Alleged Criminals To Take Their Drivers’ Tests For Them

Photo via State Police

The Massachusetts State Police cracked down on an alleged ring of drivers that were taking road tests for people too scared to hop behind the wheel, and then giving them the paperwork once they passed.

On Thursday, police released a photo of one of the alleged suspects, but at first, said little about why they were looking for her.

“The State Police Sturbridge Barracks is looking to identify this woman. Special attention the Worcester, Auburn, Leominster and Dudley areas. This is for an ongoing investigation, that details of, cannot be released at this time,” they wrote, with the accompanying photo.

But when asked by Boston what the investigation was about, State Police Spokesman David Procopio said the woman may be involved in a five-member ring of suspects—four of whom have been arrested—committing license fraud by taking driving tests for license applicants.

“The scheme worked like this: an applicant would pay these suspects to take the test for them because they feared they may not pass the driving test,” he said. “Once one of the suspects passed the driving test under a false identity—that of the actual applicant—the paperwork affirming the passing grade was given by the driving test taker to the actual applicant.”

The applicant would then return to the RMV and get their photo taken to complete the license process, allowing them to get behind the wheel of a vehicle, and register a car, even though they actually never took the test.

“We believe this scheme was perpetrated multiple times at several central Massachusetts RMV branches. The woman in the photo is the only suspect we have not yet identified and charged,” said Procopio.

A spokesperson at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the agency that oversees the state’s RMV locations, was not immediately available to discuss what protocols are in place to try and deter this type of behavior.