DMV contract employee arrested for fraud

 

Tammy Vigil FOX31 Denver
1:55 p.m. MDT, May 19, 2011

DENVER -- A contract employee for the Denver Department of Motor Vehicles is facing federal criminal charges after being arrested Wednesday morning on 21 counts of mail fraud and bribery.

53-year-old Dennis Sieving, who works for the American Driving Academy, forced the state to revoke more than 1,500 driver licenses after allegedly falsely certifying that driving applicants had taken and passed written and driving skills tests from February to May 2011.

The federal indictment against Sieving states that some of the applicants "could not speak English adequately or could not pass the test for other reasons."
According to federal investigators, "Sieving fraudulently certified hundreds of driving tests that were either inadequate or not administered."

Investigators say his motive may have been about the money.

He allegedly took $50 cash payments from applicants for each of the two exams and didn't report the earnings.

The DMV says it had to revoke all of the driver licenses certified under Sieving because it could not be sure who legitimately passed the tests. More than 1,500 people had to re-test.

"Some passed it the first time and have their licenses in their hands, and they are back on the roads," says DMV spokesperson Laurie Benallo. "Some did not pass, and some did not pass multiple times. Those folks had their documents cancelled."
Benallo says reactions to the revocation were mixed.

"People realize that it's not only their safety but the public's safety. We all need to be sure we're safe on the roads and this is necessary," she says.

FOX31 Denver stopped by Sieving's Denver home Wednesday night, but he had no comment.

Sieving faces up to 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines if he is convicted.