Kanaisha Middleton, 34, was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading guilty to fourth-degree government corruption and impairing the integrity of a licensing examination, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, as reported by Daily Voice.
Her sister, Jamie Middleton, received a five-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to the same corruption charge and eight counts involving the integrity of a licensing exam, according to the DA’s Office as reported by Daily Voice. Satoya Mitchell, James Nurse, Rene Sarduy and Omesh Mohan pleaded guilty and received probation. Tawanna Whitfield also pleaded guilty and was awaiting sentencing, the same account reported.
The case began with a report from a supervisor at the Garden City DMV branch that employees were processing commercial driver’s license permit applications for people who had not taken the required exams, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. The ensuing indictment charged three DMV employees, Jamie Middleton and three applicants in a 51-count case.
Prosecutors alleged that, on six dates between March and September 2023, Jamie Middleton posed as different permit applicants. They said she used disguises including baggy clothing, masks, construction jackets and fake facial hair, and that DMV employees let her into the testing area despite identity mismatches, according to the DA’s account of the investigation.
One incident cited by investigators took place on May 23, 2023: Jamie Middleton allegedly took exams for Rene Sarduy and Omesh Mohan less than five minutes apart, wearing the same clothes. The DA’s Office said she took nine CDL exams during the scheme and passed eight for seven applicants, according to its case summary.
A permit alone did not authorize someone to hold a full commercial driver’s license; a road test was also required, according to the DA’s Office. Of the seven applicants involved, prosecutors said only Nurse obtained a full CDL. They said he received it on Sept. 28, 2023, and used it to drive recycling trucks for the Town of Hempstead Sanitation Department. The town said it had taken steps toward terminating employees implicated in the investigation, CBS New York reported: CBS New York.
