Federal Audits Expose Widespread Commercial Truck Drivers’ Licensing Fraud, Illegal Immigrants, Fake Schools, and Bribery
Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins participates in the extradition from California of Harjinder Singh, accused of causing an accident that killed three people in Florida. (Via Collins’ X account)
Several high-profile fatal crashes in 2025 involving non-citizen truck drivers have prompted the Department of Transportation to investigate commercial driver’s license (CDL) issuance practices. Incidents in Florida, Texas, and Alabama, which killed a total of 10 people, exposed extensive fraud, including fake CDL schools, bribery schemes, fraudulent Mexican licenses, and state failures to verify immigration status.
On August 12, 2025, a crash on the Florida Turnpike killed three people when Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old driver from India, attempted an illegal U-turn in a restricted area. Singh, who entered the U.S. illegally through Mexico in 2018, had obtained a California commercial driver’s license. His trailer jackknifed, causing a minivan to become wedged underneath. Investigators found that Singh had been denied a work permit in 2020 but received one in April 2025. FMCSA tests revealed poor English proficiency—he answered only two of twelve verbal questions correctly and identified just one of four traffic signs.
A second crash occurred on March 13, 2025, when a 17-vehicle pileup in a construction zone on Interstate 35 in Austin, Texas, killed five people, including an infant and a four-year-old, and hospitalized 11 others. Solomun Weldekeal Araya, a 37-year-old Ethiopian national on a work visa, was driving for Amazon. Araya was charged with intoxication manslaughter after tests detected central nervous system depressants. Inspectors found no mechanical failures but cited multiple safety violations. He faces 22 charges, including manslaughter.
In Thomasville, Alabama, on May 6, 2025, Andrii Dmyterko, a 45-year-old Ukrainian national on a work visa, struck four vehicles at a red light, killing two people and injuring four others. Neither Dmyterko nor his passenger spoke English, investigators noted a failed skills test, missing immigration paperwork, and confiscated phone. Experts estimate that up to 130,000 non-citizen truck drivers may be operating in the U.S., with tens of thousands obtaining licenses through illegitimate means.
Following an executive order, the Trump administration expanded English proficiency enforcement. As of June 25, 2025, inspectors were authorized to remove drivers from service for lacking English proficiency. Roughly 9,500 drivers have been taken out of service, and DOT data shows drivers cited for English-language violations have higher crash rates than those cited for speeding or substance offenses.
The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal highway funds from states that fail audits or issue licenses under questionable circumstances. States at risk include California ($160 million), New York ($73 million), Texas ($182 million), and Minnesota ($30 million). California has already begun revoking 17,000 licenses, while a December 2025 FMCSA audit found that 53% of sampled non-domiciled licenses in New York were issued illegally. Violations included automatic eight-year license issuance regardless of immigration status, failure to verify lawful presence, and reliance on expired documents. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy warned that New York could lose up to $73 million in federal funding if issues are not addressed within 30 days.
New York DMV officials rejected the findings, asserting compliance with federal requirements, while California has filed a lawsuit seeking the return of withheld transportation funds. Additional audits identified improper issuance practices in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington, including missing conviction reports, incorrect disqualification dates, and improperly granted administrative appeals.
Investigations also uncovered widespread training and licensing fraud. In Washington, Skyline CDL School bribed a state examiner to pass unqualified drivers, with 80% failing when retested. In Texas, drivers used fraudulent Mexican licenses obtained digitally. In Louisiana, six defendants were indicted for a bribery scheme circumventing federal testing requirements. Arkansas passed Act 604, making fake CDLs a felony and requiring English proficiency and employment authorization checks.
In response, the FMCSA removed nearly 3,000 non-compliant training providers from its registry and issued emergency rules in September 2025 restricting non-domiciled CDLs to limited visa categories. Requirements include unexpired passports and valid entry records, one-year license caps, in-person renewals, and paused new issuance until compliance verification. Of roughly 200,000 non-citizens holding CDLs, federal officials estimate only 10,000 meet the new standards.
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