CDL examiner pleads guilty to faking tests

Mississippi man accepted cash in exchange for falsified paperwork    A Mississippi commercial driver’s license examiner has pleaded guilty after he was caught accepting cash to falsify test certifications.
   Andre Cooper, a third-party commercial driver’s license examiner, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Miss., on April 11 to making false statements. 
   Cooper had accepted cash payments from multiple CDL skills test applicants in lieu of administering the federally mandated test. He provided the CDL applicants with commercial driver skills test score sheets, falsely certifying that the drivers had successfully completed the test. In fact, they were never tested, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
   Cooper was charged March 30. The investigation revealed that over a three-year period, Cooper provided approximately 75 individuals with paperwork that falsely stated they had passed the CDL road skills tests. In exchange, the individuals paid Cooper between $200 and $300 per test. 
   The Mississippi Department of Public Safety revoked the CDLs from individuals known to have purchased test results from Cooper.
   The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration provides funding to help its state counterparts administer CDL programs, which include developing proper testing procedures and overseeing trucking schools and individuals obtaining CDLs. Trucking school students and individual applicants are required to pass an extensive written test and a multipart road skills test, including an in-depth driving test, to obtain CDL and specialized endorsements.