FBI: DMV Employee at Fair Oaks Mall Took Bribes, Helped Illegal Aliens Get IDs

An employee at the DMV office at Fair Oaks Mall accepted bribes in exchange for letting illegal aliens get IDs they weren't qualified for according to the FBI.

Maria Cavallaro, 45, of Springfield, pleaded guilty last week to accepting bribes while employed as a DMV employee from 2007 to 2011. Jose Calderon and Noemi Barboza, both 42 and of Sterling, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges stemming from the bribery scheme.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement.

According to court documents, from September 2007 to July 2010, Calderon solicited cash payments from illegal aliens in return for helping them secure DMV documents for which they were not eligible. After Calderon collected cash from ineligible applicants, he and Barboza provided Cavallaro a portion of the money to induce her to falsely verify that the ineligible applicants had produced documentation necessary to establish eligibility for issuance of the requested DMV documents. 

Calderon and Barboza also accompanied ineligible applicants to the DMV Service Center located at the Fair Oaks Mall and directed them to Cavallaro. Together, Calderon and Barboza brought more than 100 ineligible applicants to Cavallaro. In exchange for hundreds of dollars per applicant, Cavallaro processed their applications. By falsely verifying that the ineligible applicants had produced the requisite documentation, Cavallaro caused DMV to issue driver’s licenses, learner’s permits, and identification cards to individuals who were not eligible to obtain them.

Cavallaro, Calderon and Barboza are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 31. Cavallaro faces a maximum penalty of 10 years. Calderon and Barboza each face a five-year maximum sentence.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Rebeca H. Bellows is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.