A Brockton man has admitted guilt in a federal court in Boston to charges of bribing a road test examiner at the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) in Brockton. The accused, Carlos Cardoso, 71, confessed to one count of honest services mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani has scheduled his sentencing for September 11, 2025. Cardoso was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024.
Cardoso, who owns a driving school, paid over $20,000 in cash bribes to an examiner at the Brockton RMV service center. This was done to falsely represent that certain applicants had passed their road tests when they had not. Some applicants did not even appear for the test. Consequently, unqualified individuals received driver’s licenses through the mail due to this fraudulent activity.
The charge of honest services mail fraud carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Similarly, the charge of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud could result in up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Christopher A. Scharf, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General for the Northeast Region. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers and Adam Deitch from the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are handling the prosecution.
