UNION CITY, JERSEY CITY – Sonia Noel, 49, of Union City, was sentenced to four years in state prison Friday for illegally selling driver’s licenses while working as a clerk at the Jersey City Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), according to a press release from the N.M. Attorney General’s Office. She was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.
Noel pleaded guilty on June 22 to second-degree conspiracy and admitted that, on more than one occasion in 2008, she entered false information into the MVC database in connection with sales of New Jersey driver’s licenses to two people who did not have the required six points of identification.
Deputy Attorney General Frank Brady prosecuted the case and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau.
“We will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone who unlawfully sells New Jersey digital driver’s licenses,” said Attorney General Chiesa in the press release. “When corrupt employees like this clerk violate the public’s trust and sell licenses to unauthorized persons, it can open the door to con artists and even terrorists fraudulently using this powerful form of identification in their criminal activities.”
“This year the Motor Vehicle Commission deployed powerful facial scrub technology to detect fraudulent licenses,” said Stephen J. Taylor, Director of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We are working closely with the MVC to investigate those who acquire such licenses, so that we can uncover illegal license brokering schemes and other crimes.”
Noel’s daughter, Melody Noel, 27, also of Union City and also a clerk at the MVC, pleaded guilty to third-degree tampering with public records or information, and admitted that she assisted in processing the application for one of the driver’s licenses sold by her mother. Melody Noel was sentenced on June 22 to two years of probation, 50 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine. She is also permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.