5 Louisville residents face federal charges for selling illegal driver's licenses to immigrants

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Federal prosecutors have filed charges against five people accused of participating in a driver’s license fraud and money laundering scheme tied to a Louisville-area driver's licensing branch — the same misconduct first raised publicly by a whistleblower.

Melissa Moorman, a former employee at the Nia Center driver’s licensing office, said she was fired after reporting concerns about potential fraud inside the branch.

“I would like to see some justice and I would like to clear my name,” Moorman previously told WDRB News.

Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced indictments accusing former clerks and outside coordinators of illegally issuing driver’s licenses, altering state records and accepting cash payments.

“They were employees using my login as part of the scheme,” Moorman said.

All five defendants are charged with 14 counts of mail fraud, one count of mail fraud conspiracy, 14 counts of honest services mail fraud, one count of honest services mail fraud conspiracy, 14 counts of unlawful production of identification documents and one count of money laundering conspiracy.

Prosecutors: Licenses issued without tests, records altered

Under Kentucky law, non-U.S. citizens may obtain a standard driver's license only if they provide legal presence documentation and proof of residency. KYTC confirms applicants' status through federal verification systems.

According to charging documents, former clerks Aariel Matthews, 27, and Donnita Wilson, 32, are accused of issuing licenses without required driver’s tests and changing records in Kentucky’s credentialing system to recognize licenses that did not exist.

"Only by reviewing records created and manually changed in the KYTC systems could one determine a license had not been issued illegally," the indictment reads.

The indictment also names Robert Danger Correa, 41, Lazaro Alejandro Castello Rojas, 37 and Raul Tellez Ojeda, 32, who prosecutors said coordinated the process by bringing groups of people into the licensing office to bypass normal procedures.

Authorities allege the operation charged anywhere from $200 to $1,500 per license.

The state has said it revoked about 2,000 credentials statewide, suggesting the scheme may have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In a statement, prosecutors said the case represents a betrayal of public trust.

“The indictment alleges the defendants perpetrated this scheme for their own financial gain, and betrayed the trust placed in them by Kentucky’s Transportation Cabinet,” the prosecutor said. “This fraudulent scheme involved kickbacks and bribes leading to numerous legally present, non-U.S. citizens obtaining unlawfully issued drivers licenses.”

Prosecutors said Matthews and Wilson paid colleagues to keep the fraud quiet.

Whistleblower says she refused to participate

Moorman came forward with a whistleblower lawsuit in August, claiming the scheme happened four or five times a day for at least two years at multiple branches across the state. According to the lawsuit, when Moorman alerted KYTC to the scam, she was fired.

Moorman has maintained she would not go along with what she believed was wrongdoing.

Her attorney, Garry Adams, said she was unfairly blamed.

“She has been made a scapegoat and she was just merely following orders,” Adams said in a December interview with WDRB.

Matthews and Wilson were also named in Moorman’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the state — allegations that federal prosecutors now appear to echo in the indictment.

KYTC: New safeguards and fraud prevention measures underway

In a statement following the federal charges, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said it has taken “swift and proactive action” to protect against future criminal activity in the commonwealth.

The cabinet said those steps include enhanced fraud training, cross-state tracking of credential issuance, weekly briefings between cabinet leadership and fraud supervisors, new reporting procedures with Kentucky State Police and other law enforcement agencies, and additional supervisory requirements.

Gov. Andy Beshear said the state is prepared to hold those responsible accountable.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of law enforcement and state and federal offices, we now have the facts when it comes to this case and we are ready to hold those who violated the law responsible,” Beshear said.

Important clarification from prosecutors

Federal prosecutors emphasized that the licenses involved were issued to non-citizens who had legal status in the United States — not undocumented immigrants, as Moorman originally believed.

Investigators said many of those individuals did not speak English, did not understand the rules and thought they were paying extra fees for an expedited process.

So far, none of the immigrants issued the licenses are facing charges.

In an arraignment hearing Tuesday afternoon Wilson and Matthews were released on their own recognizance. Correa's bond was set at $25,000 unsecured. Lazaro Castello Rojas is being held on an ICE detainer. His court-appointed defense lawyer said his work visa expired in May 2025. At the time of this reporting, prosecutors said Raul Tellez Ojeda had not yet been taken into custody.

If convicted, all five defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count of mail fraud, mail fraud conspiracy, honest services mail fraud and money laundering and 15 years for each count of unlawful production of identification documents.

WDRB Investigates fought for records in court

WDRB Investigates began digging into the licensing fraud allegations more than a year ago.

During that reporting, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet illegally withheld documents related to the investigation. WDRB challenged the refusal in court and won, forcing the release of more than 2,300 records in December.

The case also revealed the issue extended beyond Louisville, with revoked credentials impacting communities across Kentucky.

Revocation notices were sent statewide — including Lexington, Elizabethtown, Bowling Green, Covington and many other communities.

More than 1,540 revocation notices were among the documents turned over to WDRB, with names redacted due to an ongoing criminal investigation.

Previous WDRB reporting revealed nearly 2,000 licenses have been revoked in total. The judge's order only required the state to release documents from the original WDRB request in early 2025, not any revocations that occurred after that request was made.

Lawmakers consider shutting down regional licensing branches

The scandal has prompted renewed scrutiny in Frankfort.

State lawmakers are now considering major changes to Kentucky’s driver’s licensing system, including proposals that would shut down regional branches entirely or shift some services to county clerk or judge-executive offices.

Beshear has also appointed Jeremy Slinker to deputy secretary for KYTC to improve processes at Driver Licensing Regional Offices. Slinker previously served as Operations Division Director for KSP, Director of Kentucky’s Emergency Management and was a senior leader at FEMA.

New bill aims to shorten driver's license wait times and expand locations in Kentucky

Court orders Kentucky to release records in driver’s license fraud investigation

Judge weighs releasing records in alleged Kentucky driver's license fraud probe

Kentucky auditor demands response from governor on immigrant driver's license fraud claims

Lawmakers to subpoena records after claim illegal immigrants purchased Ky. driver's licenses

Former clerk says illegal immigrants paid $200 'under the table' for Ky. driver's licenses

Kentucky withholds records of fraud investigation after drivers obtain licenses without a test