A Houston resident has received sentencing for providing false information to gain access to the state database, allowing her to print illegal tags and sell them to other individuals online, as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Leidy Hernandez Lopez, aged 43, pleaded guilty on May 10, 2023, to the purchase and sale of fraudulent Texas-issued temporary buyer tags.
Lopez has been ordered by a judge to serve 30 months in federal prison, followed immediately by three years of supervised release. Additionally, she is required to pay $316,820 in restitution to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
According to Hamdani, Lopez confessed to collaborating with others to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit paper tags.
In a related case, Octavian Ocasio, a 50-year-old from New York, was charged and arrested in May for his involvement in the same scheme. Furthermore, in June 2022, a federal grand jury indicted Daniel Rocky Christine-Tani, aged 33, for his role in the extensive fraud.
Additionally, the indictment includes further charges against Emmanuel Padilla Reyes, aged 32, who remains a fugitive. Reyes, also known as Christian Hernandez Bonilla or Noel Rivera, is wanted by the FBI. Anyone with information regarding Reyes’ whereabouts is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or via email at www.TIPS.FBI.GOV. The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading directly to his arrest.
According to Texas regulations, used car dealerships must possess an independent GDN license to engage in the buying, selling, or exchanging of used vehicles. With a GDN license, temporary buyer tags can be generated through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicle’s online eTag portal, accessible only to licensed GDN holders.
Court documents reveal that Lopez and Ocasio used fake identities, driver’s licenses, lease agreements, and business signs to obtain GDN licenses for fictitious car dealerships through the online application portal.
“The harm in this case exceeded monetary loss,” said Hamdani. “By selling counterfeit vehicle tags to other sellers, Lopez provided criminals with the means to create ‘ghost cars’ that evaded law enforcement detection. In some instances, Texas temporary tags were used in crimes posing public safety hazards, ranging from driving without insurance to committing robberies and drive-by shootings.”
