A former RMV manager has pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion. Mia Cox-Johnson, a former manager of the RMV service center in Brockton, took money in exchange for agreeing to give passing scores on learner’s permit tests for both passenger vehicle driver’s licenses and Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs). She was initially charged by an Information on March 2, 2023.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, between December 2018 and October 2019, Ms. Cox-Johnson conspired to take money in exchange for agreeing to give customers passing scores on their multiple-choice learner’s permit tests even if they did not pass. These customers were told to request a paper test instead of taking the test on the RMV computer. Ms. Cox-Johnson then scored these customers’ paper tests, herself.
Accepted cash in return for personally approving failed Learner’s Permit tests
On Dec. 28, 2018, Ms. Cox-Johnson accepted $1,000 in cash – delivered from a friend on behalf of another individual – in exchange for giving a passing score to the individual’s relative who had failed the passenger vehicle learner’s permit test six times when taking it in their native language. In addition to accepting the money, Ms. Cox-Johnson also agreed to score the relative as having passed the permit test regardless of whether they had actually passed. Ms. Cox-Johnson did, in fact, pass the relative’s test, which was taken on paper in English.
Later on Oct. 21, 2019, another candidate came to the Brockton RMV and took three multiple-choice tests they needed to pass in order to get a commercial learner’s permit – a prerequisite to taking the road test for a CDL. After being offered $200 in cash, Ms. Cox-Johnson accepted the money from an individual to score the customer as having passed the tests even if they did not actually pass. In fact, the applicant failed one of the tests, but Ms. Cox-Johnson scored the applicant as having passed all three tests.
A possible 20-year sentence
The charges of extortion under color of official right and conspiracy to commit extortion each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Ms. Cox-Johnson, who was was charged by an Information on March 2, 2023, is scheduled for sentencing for July 20, 2023.
