United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

IRVING, TEXAS, MAN INDICTED FOR RUNNING SCHEME
TO OBTAIN DRIVER LICENSES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

Defendant Alleged to Have Assisted More than 350 Individuals
Fraudulently Obtain Texas Driver Licenses

A local man who is alleged to have assisted more than 350 individuals fraudulently obtain Texas driver licenses surrendered to federal authorities today, announced United States Attorney Richard B. Roper. A federal grand jury in Dallas returned a 32-count indictment last week charging Isaac Banai with 15 counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of encouraging and inducing illegal aliens to reside in the United States, one count of money laundering and one forfeiture allegation. Today, Banai appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Jeff Kaplan for his initial appearance/arraignment and pled not guilty to the charges. He was released on bond; a trial date will be set at a later date.

Isaac Banai, age 44, was born in Israel and first entered the United States on a non-immigrant tourist visa. He later married a United States citizen and used this relationship to become a legal permanent resident in 1996. At various times between 1988 and 2005, Banai owned and operated a taxi service in Dallas. One of the business names Banai used was “Kelly Cab,” in which he used one or two Lincoln Town Cars to transport passengers from DFW International Airport to Dallas.

According to the indictment, from summer 2003 through the fall of 2005, Banai assisted well over 350 individuals to fraudulently obtain Texas driver licenses; about half of these individuals were illegally in the United States at that time. Most of the foreignnationals Banai helped legally entered the United States through a tourist visa which allowed them to remain in the United States for a maximum of six months. Following the expiration of this six-month period, however, the holders of these tourist visas became “visa overstays” and then were considered illegally in the United States. Banai and these visa overstays knew that in order to successfully reside in the United States, it would be very helpful to possess a valid driver license

Banai ran advertisements in an Israeli newspaper, published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States, that solicited the business of foreign nationals illegally in the United States. He convinced foreign nationals living in New York and New Jersey to travel to Texas to obtain a driver license because he knew that these individuals could not obtain a social security number or a valid state driver license from the driver license agency in the state where they actually resided. While Banai helped may illegal aliens who were Israeli nationals, he also helped other foreign nationals from non-Israeli nations, such as Egypt, Syria, Iraq, as well as from other countries in Europe, Asia, and Central America.

As a further part of the scheme, Banai required each illegal alien to fly to Texas, at their own expense, where he would pick them up at the airport using his taxi service. Banai then would take these illegal aliens to a motel in Dallas, usually a Motel 6 in Dallas or Addison, Texas, where they would stay one or two days. He offered to help the illegal aliens prepare for both the written and driving part of their Texas driver license testing and would transport them to a Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License Office to apply for the driver license. On average, Banai received $500 from each illegal alien he assisted in obtaining a Texas driver license. After they completed the requirements to obtain a Texas driver license, each illegal alien applicant returned to their residence.

On the driver license application form, the illegal aliens falsely listed the motel address where they were staying as their residence, and provided the motel’s phone number as their actual phone number. Accordingly, the Texas Department of Public Service mailed the driver licenses to that address. Banai made arrangements with the employees of the motels to hold all the incoming mail addressed to the illegal aliens staying at that motel and then collected the Texas driver licenses that were mailed from the Department of Public Safety to the illegals at the motels. He then mailed the licenses to the actual residence of each of the illegal applicants.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, if convicted, each of the mail fraud counts carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine; each of the counts charging encouraging and inducing illegal aliens to reside in the United States carries a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine; and the money laundering count carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine. So, if convicted on all counts, Isaac Banai faces a maximum statutory sentence of 470 years imprisonment and an $8 million fine.

U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Texas Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Jarvis.

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