Three men have been arrested in connection with a scheme to cheat on the Florida driver's license exam in Miami-Dade County, authorities said. According to detectives with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, the men used electronic devices to get through the test, part of what investigators described as a high-tech operation designed to beat the exam. The arrests were announced by law enforcement after an investigation that centered on a DMV office in the western part of the county, where officials say the cheating took place and where the scheme was ultimately uncovered.
Police say the operation relied on hidden technology worn by the people taking the exam. According to detectives, the test takers would wear a polo shirt equipped with recording devices, allowing their movements and the exam questions to be picked up. The whole thing, investigators said, was orchestrated from a white truck parked in the lot outside the DMV office. From inside that vehicle, accomplices could hear what was happening and, in turn, tell the test takers how to answer the questions as they sat for the exam.
One of those arrested is Carrel Clavel Beltran, who police say helped two other individuals cheat on the driver's exam on Wednesday. According to authorities, he faces charges of cheating, unlawful use of a communications device and taking part in an organized scheme to defraud. Beltran also faces an additional count of giving a false name after arrest, which is a felony. During a court appearance before Judge Glazer, it was noted that Beltran has an immigration hold placed against him as the case moves forward.
According to police, two of the men took the driver's exam at the DMV office located at 7795 West Flagler Street in Miami, and both passed. The detail underscored how the alleged scheme was meant to work, with the applicants using the concealed devices to make it through a test that many drivers take on their own. Investigators laid out how the men moved through the process, describing a coordinated effort that stretched from the parking lot outside to the testing area within the government office itself.
The arrest form for Beltran describes how detectives say the scheme unfolded before the exam. According to that document, the defendant entered a nearby mall and met with co-defendant Miguel Nunez-Garcia, and detectives witnessed a transaction of U.S. currency between the two men. Both parties then left the mall and returned to the vehicle, at which point, police say, the co-defendant had changed his clothing from a purple polo shirt to a white T-shirt before getting out of the vehicle to head toward the test.
Nunez-Garcia declined to appear in bond court, and according to authorities he faces two charges in the case, as well as an immigration hold. A third man, Alexis Fernandez, did appear before Judge Glazer, where he was told he had been arrested for cheating and the unlawful use of a communications device. Investigators indicated that Fernandez had traveled down from Tampa specifically to take the driver's license test in Miami-Dade, adding another layer to the reach of the alleged operation.
Miami-Dade tax collector Dariel Fernandez thanked the county's detectives for making the arrests, framing the case as a matter of protecting the integrity of the licensing system. Officials warned that when people attempt to cheat the testing process, they undermine the system and put public safety at risk. Authorities also noted that on June 24, four other individuals were caught using electronic devices to take the test. Those four were not arrested at the time, but the tax collector said that does not mean they will not face charges.