Ex-DMV Employee Sentenced for Altering Drivers Licenses

On Thursday, August 1, 2019, in Department 4 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Judge Brett Alldredge sentenced Jose Hernandez, age 53, to four years suspended state prison and ordered Hernandez to spend 270 days in custody of the Tulare County jail.

On May 14, 2019, Hernandez pleaded no contest to six felony counts of computer access fraud to alter a record and six felony counts of falsifying a government record. The twelve counts constituted all charges filed against Hernandez. No plea offers were made in this case.

The case arose out of an intensive two-year internal investigation by the California Department of Motor Vehicles involving offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and Tulare counties. Multiple DMV employees, including Hernandez in Visalia, would fraudulently grant commercial licenses to drivers who had not passed the necessary tests. Hernandez did this with six drivers who paid $400 to $600 to DMV employees or intermediaries to upgrade their licenses. Hernandez did not disclose the source of any payments.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Paula Clark of the Consumer Protection Unit and was investigated by DMV Investigator Calen Albert of the DMV Office of Internal Affairs.

Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare Assistant District Attorney Dan Underwood (559) 636-5494