Three federal cases expose identity fraud linked to commercial driver’s licenses

Federal prosecutors have unraveled three separate identity-fraud schemes in which Mexican, Nigerian and Peruvian nationals allegedly stole U.S. citizens’ identities to obtain commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and secure jobs in the trucking industry. The cases span Kentucky, South Dakota and Connecticut, with each defendant facing serious federal charges tied to stolen Social Security numbers, forged documents and false citizenship claims.

In Kentucky, a jury convicted Joel Sanchez-Mendoza, 39, a Mexican national who entered the U.S. as a child, of citizenship-related false statements and aggravated identity theft. Sanchez-Mendoza purchased the identity of Puerto Rican citizen Luis Morales in 2016 to avoid deportation. He used the stolen identity to secure a forklift job at a Kentucky transportation company, which later promoted him to truck driver and paid for his CDL—all under Morales’ name. The fraud unraveled in 2025 when a probation officer discovered another Luis Morales with the same Social Security number living in Ohio. Morales reported that an imposter had been filing taxes and applying for benefits in his name since 2023. Sanchez-Mendoza was sentenced on June 26, 2026, to two years in federal prison, fined $400, and will be supervised for three years upon release. His attorney filed a notice of appeal on July 2.

In South Dakota, Atuchukwu Markrufus Onyeanusi, 32, a Nigerian national, pleaded guilty in February to one felony count of fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents. Onyeanusi was stopped for speeding in Oklahoma in November 2025 and presented a Texas CDL and a South Dakota employment card—both bearing his photo but another person’s name. He admitted using the fraudulent CDL and Social Security card to obtain a job as a cyberthreat analyst in Rapid City, S.D. On May 20, 2026, he was sentenced to time served (nearly six months), fined $1,000, and ordered to pay a $100 fee to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. The next day, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Onyeanusi as a removable criminal alien. He had entered the U.S. legally in 2022 as a green card holder but faced removal proceedings due to his conviction. An immigration judge issued a final removal order on June 11, 2026.

In Connecticut, Flor Consuelo del Carmen Caballero Bernabe, 55, a Peruvian national, is awaiting trial on charges including passport fraud, passport misuse, false claims of U.S. citizenship, misuse of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and giving false statements. Prosecutors allege she entered the U.S. in 2000 on a nonimmigrant visa and began using the identity and Social Security number of a Puerto Rican-born U.S. citizen to live, work and maintain a CDL in Connecticut. She is accused of using the stolen identity to apply for and renew a U.S. passport in 2005 and 2015, respectively. The charges carry potential prison sentences of up to 10 years for passport fraud, up to five years for false citizenship claims or misuse of a Social Security number, and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.

All three cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Kentucky, South Dakota and Connecticut. The cases underscore vulnerabilities in the CDL issuance process and the broader risks of identity theft within the transportation sector.