2 charged in scheme selling driver’s licenses for up to $3K

PHILADELPHIA – An employee at Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation granted driving privileges to more than 30 people without requiring them to show proper documents or take driving tests under a bribery scheme that netted him nearly $14,000, federal prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Henry Gibbs, 54, would approve driver’s licenses based on fake documents provided by a middleman, Bakary Camara, 30. The documents included false insurance records, telephone bills and tax letters with stolen Social Security numbers, according to prosecutors.

Both men were charged with bribery and conspiracy. Additionally, prosecutors charged Gibbs with lying to investigators and Camara with aggravated identity theft.

Citing a court indictment unsealed this week, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported (http://bit.ly/2wVdSoh) Gibbs knowingly entered false information into state databases and often filled out driving test forms himself. He also copied test results from other drivers, according to the indictment.

Camara paid Gibbs between April 2014 and May 2015 from the $1,500 to $3,000 he charged each client, according to prosecutors.

Authorities have not disclosed how investigators discovered the scheme, and they have not identified the clients.

A spokeswoman for the Transportation Department said Gibbs is no longer employed there. The agency has worked with the Department of Homeland Security throughout the investigation, she said.

Gibbs was released on bond Tuesday. Camara remains in federal custody.

Attorneys for both Gibbs and Camara have declined to comment.