Les Vegas, Nev. – A Nevada DMV employee has been charged with bribery for accepting thousands of dollars to provide driver's licenses to illegal aliens who were not entitled to them, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Nancy Brown, 28, of Las Vegas, is charged in a criminal complaint with federal program bribery. Brown was arrested on Thursday, May 5, 2011, in Las Vegas, and appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge George Foley, Jr., who released her on a personal recognizance bond. The complaint was filed on April 29, 2011, and unsealed Friday.

"Public corruption can affect everything from how well our borders are secured and our neighborhoods protected, to the quality of our roads and schools," said U.S. Attorney Bogden. "We will continue to work in conjunction with local and state authorities to prosecute and send to prison persons who commit these types of crimes."

According to the complaint, in September 2010, the Chief of Nevada DMV's Compliance Enforcement Division received information from an unnamed individual that two persons had fraudulently received Nevada driver's licenses through a suspected DMV employee. Federal and state authorities began an investigation and determined that Brown, a DMV Technician, who worked at the DMV at 2701 E. Sahara, allegedly sold authentic Nevada driver's licenses to individuals who were not entitled to the licenses, primarily illegal aliens. The individuals paid various individuals, who are not identified by name in the complaint, between $1,700 and $3,000, for the licenses. The individuals were instructed to go to the DMV on E. Sahara and sit in the lobby area near Brown's application station. Brown would then motion the customer to her station and would complete fraudulent paperwork. The customer did not provide or produce any identifying documents of proof of eligibility to Brown. Brown processed the transaction and collected the required DMV fees, then directed the customer to the camera station where he/she received their temporary driver's license. The complaint alleges that Brown processed 187 fraudulent Nevada driver's license applications.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) is very concerned with criminal activity that allows individuals who may not be in this country lawfully to obtain legitimate United States identity documents," said Angel Marcial, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of ICE HSI in Las Vegas. "Trafficking in counterfeit documents poses serious security vulnerability, one that often contributes to a host of other crimes – including identity theft and financial fraud. HSI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to detect, investigate and dismantle this type of activity."

This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and the Nevada DMV, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Dickinson.

The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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