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Miah, last of 5 suspects in driver’s license scam, submits guilty plea
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Posted on Aug 19 2011
Mohammad Jahangir Miah, one of the five suspects in the driver’s license scam at the Department of Public Safety, entered a guilty plea yesterday as part of a plea deal.
Miah pleaded guilty in federal court to count one of the indictment charging him with conspiring to unlawfully produce and transfer identification documents.
The remaining eights charges—not including the forfeiture allegation—will be dropped.
U.S. District Court for the NMI visiting judge Mark W. Bennett set Miah’s sentencing for Nov. 15, 2011 at 9am. He allowed Miah to remain free until sentencing day.
Miah’s former wife, Tahira Dolores Miah, and three other co-defendants—former DPS Bureau of Motor Vehicles employee William A. Hocog, Hongmei Sun, and Hui Qiang Yan have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
According to the agreement, Miah, a Bangladeshi national, helped foreign national driver’s license applicants obtain CNMI driver’s licenses from BMV without passing the tests required by CNMI law. Miah acted in cooperation with other persons, including BMV employees.
The applicants paid money for this assistance. Miah retained a portion of the money, while portions were retained by BMV employees and other persons.
