Guilty plea in Johnson County driver’s license bribery case

A former driver’s license examiner in Johnson County admitted Wednesday that she took nearly $50,000 in bribes to issue fraudulent licenses.

Samantha Jo Moore, 29, waived her preliminary hearing and pleaded guilty in Johnson County District Court to multiple counts of bribery, computer crime, identity theft, official misconduct, felony use of a driver’s license and tax fraud.

Moore worked at the Kansas Department of Revenue office in Mission from 2011 until the fraudulent activity was discovered last year.

According to court documents filed in the case, Moore issued more than 50 fraudulent licenses over a two-year period and was paid from $500 to $1,000 for each transaction.

Many of those who received the licenses were in the country illegally, according to the documents.

She admitted that she took measures to cover the scheme, including shredding paperwork.

More than 40 other people were charged in the case. Most were individuals who obtained the fraudulent licenses, but five people were charged with being “fixers” who set up the transactions.

The money she made from the scheme was used for living expenses and to pay bills, Moore told investigators.

According to the documents, she received $28,500 in 2012 and $20,500 in 2013, but did not report the income on her tax returns.

Sentencing for Moore was scheduled for Jan. 17.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Guilty plea in Johnson County driver’s license bribery case."