A former title clerk at the Quincy Registry of Motor Vehicles and a Somerville man were arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court on Tuesday, accused of running a bribery scheme that let customers pay to jump the line on title and registration paperwork. Prosecutors say 29-year-old Ashlee Jordan, now of Bridgewater, operated what amounted to a private concierge service out of her state job, while 47-year-old Stanley Nazaire allegedly worked as the middleman who steered customers her way.
Charges and Arraignment
Jordan was charged with one count each of bribery, unwarranted privilege and conspiracy to commit title fraud, according to CBS News. Nazaire was charged with one count of bribery and one count of solicitation to commit bribery. Both were released on personal recognizance following the arraignment, and the case is next due in court on December 15.
The outlet reports that prosecutors allege Jordan accepted personal payments in exchange for expediting RMV tasks and letting customers skip standard requirements, a claim the Massachusetts attorney general's office has attributed to the case against her. The station's report notes that she allegedly processed customers' title and registration work faster than what was available to the general public, and in some instances arranged overnight turnaround once payment changed hands.
A Clerk Hired in 2019, Then a Pandemic Backlog
Jordan started working at the Quincy RMV in 2019, where her duties reportedly included duplicate titles, ownership changes, title amendments and corrections, and liens. The Quincy branch closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and processing times reportedly tripled in some cases during that stretch — delays prosecutors say Jordan exploited to build demand for her side business.
According to the same account, Jordan promoted her services at a car enthusiast's social club, allegedly wearing her RMV lanyard while doing so. Nazaire is accused of acting as an intermediary in the scheme, allegedly approaching towing companies to promote Jordan's services and paying her himself to complete his own title transactions. Prosecutors allege her income from the scheme exceeded her RMV salary.
How It Fits a Broader Pattern
Massachusetts has flagged registry fraud risks before. In 2023, state officials warned residents about fraudulent third parties, websites and scams tied to obtaining driver's licenses, a caution issued by the attorney general and RMV registrar ahead of the Work and Family Mobility Act, per Mass.gov. A separate federal case saw a Brockton man sentenced for bribing an RMV road-test examiner to issue licenses to people who had failed or never taken their road tests, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Similar Schemes Surfaced Elsewhere
Massachusetts isn't alone in grappling with insider schemes at motor vehicle agencies. In Texas, a DMV employee and another person were charged last year in a car-title laundering scheme that allegedly involved swapping a stolen vehicle's identification number with a clean VIN from a similar make and model before resale, according to Click2Houston.
In Texas's Harris County, two former tax-office employees were arrested this year in an alleged vehicle-registration bribery scheme; investigators determined one processed 96 fraudulent transactions while the other handled at least 10, with one allegedly charging $300 per transaction, per Houston Public Media. And in Indiana, two former BMV staffers were charged with accepting bribes to enter passing scores for written tests customers never took, with investigators identifying more than 300 illegitimate tests entered under the pair's login credentials between June 2023 and February 2024, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
What Comes Next
Bribery involving public employees in Massachusetts falls under General Laws chapter 268A, section 2, the state's bribery enforcement statute, according to Mass.gov. Jordan and Nazaire's case returns to Norfolk Superior Court on December 15, when the next steps in the prosecution will be addressed.
