A Roxbury man is facing a prison sentence of up to 15 years for helping an undercover agent use a Bluetooth device to cheat on an exam to obtain a learner’s permit for commercial drivers at the RMV in Danvers, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Frank Castro, 52, was convicted by a federal jury in Boston on Wednesday. He was found guilty of unlawful production of an identification document. His sentencing hearing was set for May 7.
Prosecutors said Castro was part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain commercial learners’ permits, known as CLPs. They are required by the state before drivers can apply for commercial driver’s licenses to operate big rigs, tractor trailers, and school buses.
For a payment of $3,000, Castro provided the agent with a Bluetooth device to plant in his hear when he went to take the exam, according to an indictment handed up in April 2024.
Castro met the agent at a McDonald’s restaurant in Lynn on Dec. 21, 2021 to give him the device and explain “the cheating procedure,” the indictment said.
Castro told the agent he would be able to hear the correct answers to the audio questions in his ear via Bluetooth. He told the agent to wear headphones when he took the exam to conceal the device in his ear, court documents show.
The next day, when the agent took his test at the RMV in Danvers, he did as he had been told.
“The undercover agent passed the exam with Castro’s unlawful assistance and received a Massachusetts CLP,” US Attorney for Massachusetts, Leah B. Foley, said in a statement Thursday.
Castro’s conviction carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine up to $250,000.
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