Trucking Laws · New York · October 30, 2026

New York DMV Supervisor Gets a Year in Jail After Her Sister Took CDL Exams in Disguise for Would-Be Truck Drivers

By Big Rig Daily Staff

A former New York Department of Motor Vehicles supervisor has been sentenced to one year in jail for a scheme that helped people skip the exams needed to become truck drivers, according to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office. Officials say her sister showed up in disguises, including fake facial hair, to take commercial driver's license (CDL) exams for other people. CDL Life and ATruckDrivers both reported on the case, citing the district attorney's office.

What the sentence covers

Kanaisha Middleton, 34, was sentenced Oct. 28, 2026. She pleaded guilty on May 4, 2026, to corrupting the government in the fourth degree, impairing the integrity of a licensing examination and official misconduct. Officials say she used her job to run "a cheating scheme to bypass CDL exams and process permits for no-show applicants."

How the disguise scheme worked

Between March and September 2023, Kanaisha Middleton directed her sister, Jamie Middleton, 36, to pose as different applicants, the district attorney's office said. Jamie Middleton showed up "in baggy clothing, face masks, construction jackets and fake facial hair," officials said.

Officials said she was let into the testing room every time, even though her appearance did not match the identification and DMV records of the people she was posing as. ATruckDrivers reported that the case began when a supervisor at the Garden City DMV branch told the New York State Inspector General's Office that employees were processing CDL permit applications without applicants sitting for the required tests.

Jamie Middleton took nine CDL exams and passed eight times, for seven applicants. Six of those applicants were not issued full CDLs.

On May 23, 2023, she took exams for two applicants less than five minutes apart, wearing the exact same clothing, officials said. Another applicant, a Town of Hempstead sanitation employee, was issued a full CDL on Sept. 28, 2023, and used it to drive recycling trucks, according to the district attorney's office.

What happened to the others

Jamie Middleton was sentenced July 7, 2026, to five months of incarceration and five years of probation, ATruckDrivers reported. Five other people have pleaded guilty. ATruckDrivers listed probation sentences for four of them, and sentencing for the fifth is set for Nov. 23, 2026.

What officials said

"She enlisted the help of her sister and several other DMV employees in a masquerade of harebrained disguises to conceal a half-baked scheme putting money in their pockets and untested drivers on the roads with permits they never earned," District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said. "We expect public employees to uphold the law, not sell it out for cash and at the expense of New Yorkers' safety."

New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said the defendant "betrayed the public's trust and undermined the integrity of the system."

Quick facts

• Sentenced: Oct. 28, 2026, to one year in jail.
• Where: Nassau County, New York, with DMV branches in Garden City, Massapequa, Springfield Gardens and Bethpage named in the reports.
• Exams: nine taken, eight passed, for seven applicants.
• Full CDLs: not issued to six of the seven applicants.
• Other defendants: five more have pleaded guilty, with one sentencing set for Nov. 23, 2026.

Big Rig Daily has also covered a Louisiana former CDL skills tester charged with false entries. To see what the honest route looks like, read the step-by-step guide to getting a CDL and the CDL general knowledge test study guide.

A question for readers

Truckers who studied and sat for their own exams: what should states do to keep the testing process honest?

Save this story for later

Save this to Pinterest