Allegations Include Requesting and Accepting $450 in Cash in Parking Lot at Plymouth RMV
A Brazilian national illegally residing in Boston has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain driver’s licenses for ineligible applicants, including individuals residing in states where they were not eligible for such licenses.
Gabriel Nascimento De Andrade, 27, pleaded guilty on March 6, 2026, to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully produce and possess identification documents with intent to transfer them. Sentencing is scheduled for April 9, 2026, before U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman. In December 2024, Nascimento De Andrade was charged along with four co-conspirators.
Scheme Spanned Multiple States and Years
According to federal authorities, the conspiracy operated from approximately November 2020 through September 2024 and involved obtaining driver’s licenses for applicants who did not meet eligibility requirements in the issuing states. The defendants allegedly used the same general approach to secure Massachusetts licenses for out-of-state residents as they did to obtain New York licenses for Massachusetts-based customers.
Prior to July 2023, Massachusetts did not permit undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, while New York allowed such applicants beginning in 2019.
Prosecutors allege that Gabriel Nascimento De Andrade and his co-conspirators arranged for ineligible applicants—including Massachusetts residents—to obtain New York licenses despite lacking residency. Following the July 2023 change in Massachusetts law, the scheme shifted to securing Massachusetts licenses for individuals who did not reside in the state. The group collected fees from customers in exchange for obtaining the fraudulent licenses.
Methods Included Forged Documents and Test Fraud
In New York, applicants were required to pass a written permit test and complete driver’s education through a New York driving school. For online permit exams, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (NY DMV) required test-takers to capture webcam images during the test to verify their identity and ensure they were not receiving outside assistance.
Prosecutors allege the defendants circumvented these safeguards by collecting photographs of customers staged to appear as if they were taking the exam, then completing the tests on the customers’ behalf. When prompted for verification images, the conspirators allegedly uploaded the pre-supplied photos to make it appear that the applicants themselves were taking the tests. The group is also alleged to have created fraudulent driver’s education certificates, forged driving school signatures, and provided those documents to customers for submission to the NY DMV.
To satisfy in-person requirements, the defendants allegedly transported Massachusetts-based customers to NY DMV locations and supplied them with falsified documents purporting to establish New York residency. Authorities say the NY DMV relied on those representations to issue permits, which were mailed to addresses in New York controlled by the conspirators and later delivered to customers. The defendants allegedly scheduled road tests, transported customers back to New York to complete them, and then provided the resulting licenses once issued.
Federal authorities allege the same general methods were used to obtain Massachusetts licenses for out-of-state residents. In one example cited by prosecutors, they stated that Nascimento De Andrade accepted $450 in cash from a customer in the parking lot of a Plymouth RMV branch in exchange for a fabricated cable bill falsely indicating Massachusetts residency.
Scope of the Operation
Authorities allege the conspiracy involved more than 1,000 applicants, with licenses successfully obtained for more than 600 individuals. The operation generated “at least hundreds of thousands of dollars” in proceeds.
Nascimento De Andrade is the third defendant to plead guilty in the case. Two co-conspirators were previously sentenced in 2025 to prison terms of 290 days and nine months, respectively.
Potential Penalties
The charge carries a maximum penalty of:
- Up to five years in prison;
- Up to three years of supervised release;
- A fine of up to $250,000.
Following any sentence imposed, Nascimento De Andrade will be subject to deportation.
Federal authorities emphasized that the remaining defendant in the case is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Agencies Involved
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with investigative support from Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and multiple state and local law enforcement agencies, including the New York DMV Division of Field Investigation.
