Knoxville couple convicted of creating fake IDs at driver service centers

FILE – In this photo taken April 6, 2016, a sign at the federal courthouse in Tacoma, Wash., is shown informing visitors of the federal government's REAL ID law, which requires that driver's licenses and ID cards State ID have security measures and are issued to individuals who can prove they are legally in the United States. Washington state lawmakers are now trying to bring the state into compliance with the law, and if state-issued ID cards and licenses are not changed, residents could be required to show ID cards. additional identification when boarding domestic flights at U.S. airports starting in January. 2018. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A former district director of the Tennessee Department of Homeland Safety and Security and her husband were sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to conspiring to create more than 100 fake driver's licenses and cards identity of Tennessee in 2023.

In December 2023, Cheryl Huff, 49, and Mario Paz-Mejia, 51, both of Knoxville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce, without lawful authority, identity documents or false identity documents . According to the Department of Justice, the couple conspired to produce more than one hundred fake Tennessee driver's licenses and identification cards for people who were not legally qualified to receive them.

Huff was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Her husband, Paz-Mejia, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release.

The DOJ said Huff previously managed and supervised employees of the Driver Service Center (DSC) in the Knoxville area and had the authority to issue driver's licenses and application cards.

According to the DOJ, in exchange for $2,500, Paz-Mejia recruited individuals who were not U.S. citizens or Tennessee residents and who wanted to acquire a Tennessee driver's license or identification card. He also allegedly helped his clients obtain false citizenship and residency documents, including fake rental agreements, birth certificates, Social Security cards, and driver's licenses from other U.S. states and territories.

The Justice Department continued to state that Huff, as official, used his access to internal software at the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDSHS) to confirm that the names and information of false documents Citizenship and residency requirements could be used to obtain a Tennessee driver's license. or an identity card.

To create the ID cards, the DOJ said Paz-Mejia arranged for the client to meet them at a Knoxville-area DSC before business hours, where Huff would escort them inside and initiate a driving license application using the TDSHS software. Additionally, Huff directed DSC employees to complete applications and issue licenses to many of Paz-Mejia's clients, the DOJ said.

The case was investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol's Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service and United States and the United States Secret Service.