Louisiana U.S. Attorney's Case Exposes CDL Fraud

DOJ: Six Defendants Indicted for Commercial Driver’s License Bribery Scheme

The Commercial Vehicle Training Association (CVTA) welcomes the announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana regarding the indictment of six individuals charged in a bribery scheme that allowed unqualified applicants to obtain commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) without completing required training or testing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana stated, “The indictment alleges that a local restaurant owner, in exchange for payments from CDL applicants, bypassed each of the three main federally mandated steps of the CDL qualification process—knowledge testing, entry-level driver training, and skills testing.”

The indictment describes a conspiracy that bypassed every safeguard in the CDL process—knowledge testing, entry-level driver training, and the CDL skills test. This conduct mirrors the same dangers posed by “CDL mills” and other bad actors that CVTA has long warned about: fraudulent providers willing to shortcut federally required standards in exchange for profit. Such schemes place unprepared drivers on the road, undermine law-abiding schools and carriers, and erode public trust in the commercial licensing system. The FMCSA has projected that full compliance with the Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) rule could prevent up to 115 deaths and nearly 8,000 crashes annually. Allowing individuals to buy their way out of training requirements is not only illegal, but it also endangers lives.

We at CVTA care deeply about this issue because our member schools and training partners across the nation operate with integrity and invest heavily in compliance with federal standards. Each year, our programs train more than 100,000 entry-level drivers who are properly prepared to pass their CDL skills tests and operate safely on America’s highways. When fraudulent providers or corrupt officials subvert the system, it undermines the work of these legitimate schools, cheats students out of genuine training, and puts the motoring public at risk.

This case underscores the pressing need for enhanced oversight of the Training Provider Registry (TPR) and prompt action to remove non-compliant providers. CVTA has consistently called on the USDOT and FMCSA to increase audits, empower states to suspend fraudulent entities, and accelerate enforcement actions so that high-quality training organizations are protected. At the same time, bad actors are swiftly identified and eliminated. Federal and state investigators need the ability to act on agencies when pursuing these cases. We urge regulators and Congress to take the additional steps necessary to restore integrity to the CDL system and safeguard the motoring public. Read the Department of Justice Press Statement here.