Investigators have been investigating claims made by a whistleblower that immigrants paid temporary contract workers to get state driver’s licenses unlawfully, according to Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman and Democratic Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky.
TV station in LouisvilleA former clerk at a Kentucky driver’s license office told WDRB last week that coworkers were selling state driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants who were in the country illegally for $200 each. Melissa Moorman, the whistleblower, was employed by Quantam Solutions, a staffing company, in Louisville’s Nia licensing office.
After reporting the scam to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), Moorman informed the TV station she was dismissed. In April, she sued both Quantam Solutions and the cabinet.
Beshear in a Wednesday press conference told reporters the cabinet regularly reviews driver s licensing credential applications and had revoked 1,985 credentials for irregularities.
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According to Beshear, KYTC got in touch with law enforcement right away, including several state and federal offices involved in a criminal investigation. If utilized at an airport, the revoked credentials would be identified if stopped during a traffic stop. We’re determined to gather all the information and bring those who broke the law to justice.
According to Beshear, all of the involved employees were fired after being hired through a temporary agency. Beshear claimed he didn’t have that information and hadn’t read the whistleblower lawsuit complaint when asked if Moorman had been dismissed by the cabinet or the employment company Quantam Solutions for disclosing the plot. However, he said that some of the complaint’s claims were untrue.
During a roundtable with law enforcement in Shepherdsville on Wednesday, Republican attorney general Coleman stated that his office has been working on the case for a while with Kentucky State Police and federal officials.
Coleman stated that the media’s coverage of the whistleblower’s actions in recent days has been extremely alarming. The investigation is ongoing for several months. It has been going on for a long time before the recent media headlines. Thus, that is a very strong, continuing investigation right now.
Republicans in the state legislature and Republican Auditor Allison Ball have called for probes into the whistleblower’s claims in response to the lawsuit’s report.
This is essentially incorrect on all levels if these reports are true. In response to the accusations, Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, said in a statement that it is not only a failure in oversight but also a betrayal of public confidence. The General Assembly of Kentucky will voice its concerns and do all in our power to right this error and make sure it never occurs again.
In his remarks, Higdon, the chair of the Kentucky Senate Transportation Committee, cited prior annoyances experienced by Kentuckians at regional driver’s license offices, which were established by the state legislature in 2020. In the past, driver’s licenses were granted by circuit court clerks in each county. Both parties in the state legislature opposed and supported the 2020 law, which Beshear approved.
Long waits at the offices have been experienced by Kentuckians, and this year a new state legislation requiring drivers to pass a vision exam in order to renew their licenses went into effect.
Ball, the Republican state auditor, expressed her concern about rumors of a purported black market within the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in a letter to Beshear and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray on Wednesday, asking for a formal explanation of the accusations.
Beshear stated that it was a component of the probe when a reporter asked if illegal immigrants were obtaining phony driver’s licenses.
People may attempt to obtain false identification for a variety of reasons, and I don’t want to interfere with the Kentucky State Police’s ongoing investigation, Beshear stated. However, we look forward to providing all of those details after that is finished.
The context of the 2020 bill establishing regional driver’s licensing offices was added to this story.
This report was written with McKenna Horsley’s assistance.
This story originally appeared at kentuckylantern.com.
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