Tennessee Couple Sentenced for Conspiring to Unlawfully Produce Driver's Licenses

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A joint investigation has led to the sentencing of a husband and wife for conspiring to produce false Tennessee driver’s licenses and identification cards for individuals who were not lawfully qualified to receive one.

Cheryl Huff, 49, and Mario Paz-Mejia aka Paz, 51, of Knoxville, who are married, were sentenced May 24 to 37 months and 30 months, respectively. Both sentences include one year of supervised release.

As part of their plea agreements, Huff and Paz agreed to plead guilty to producing more than 100 false Tennessee driver’s licenses.

As set forth in the filed plea agreements, Huff was a district manager for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which issues Tennessee driver’s licenses and identification cards at various Driver Service Centers across Tennessee. Huff managed and supervised Driver Service Center employees in the greater Knoxville area and had authority to issue driver’s licenses and application cards.

Paz recruited individuals who were neither citizens of the United States nor residents of Tennessee who wanted to acquire a Tennessee driver’s license or identification card. Using his association with Huff, Paz represented to his customers that, in return for $2,500, he could obtain for them a Tennessee driver’s license or identification card. Paz also assisted his customers in obtaining false citizenship and residency documents — two requirements to obtain a Tennessee driver’s license — including fraudulent lease agreements to establish proof of Tennessee residency, and false birth certificates, Social Security cards, and driver’s licenses from other states and U.S. territories to establish proof of citizenship or legal residency in the United States.

Huff knew, or deliberately ignored a high probability, that Paz was helping his customers obtain false citizenship and residency documents and that Paz charged his customers money to obtain a Tennessee driver’s license or identification card.

Huff used her access to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s internal software to confirm that the names and information on the false citizenship and residency documents used by Paz’s customers could be used to obtain a Tennessee driver’s license or identification card. For example, on June 23, 2021, Paz-Mejia texted Huff the name, date of birth and personal information used on false identification documents, asking Huff to “check that please.” Huff responded, “All of these are not on file. They’re good.”

After Paz’s customers acquired false citizenship and residency documents, Paz arranged to meet them at a Knoxville-area Driver Service Center before business hours. With Huff’s assistance, Paz escorted his customers into Driver Service Centers before business hours, including through a backdoor, employee-only entrance. Once Paz and his customers were inside, Huff initiated driver’s license applications using Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security software. Huff also instructed subordinate Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s employees to complete applications and issue driver’s licenses to many of Paz’s customers.

This prosecution was the result of an ongoing investigation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Knoxville, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney William A. Roach Jr. represented the government.