LAWFUEL – Press Release Service – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Barbara Barnet, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Jesus Torres, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Sandra C. Lambert, Director of the State of Florida Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), announced today the Indictment of defendants, Marta Carina Pinto, Joseph Cohen, Elan Bitton, and Raphael Hamou. The Indictment charges Pinto, a former 17 year DHSMV employee, and Cohen with conspiring to produce and transfer unlawful State of Florida identification documents, namely Florida drivers’ licenses. Pinto and Cohen were also charged with five counts of unlawfully producing and aiding and abetting the production of Florida drivers’ licenses and Bitton and Hamou were charged with one count each of unlawfully producing a State of Florida Commercial Driver License. The defendants made their initial appearances today in Federal District Court in Miami, Florida. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory sentence of fifteen (15) years imprisonment.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the United States Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Florida Highway Patrol. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jose A. Bonau.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls . Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/ .