Foreign language translators are systematically cheating Maine driving exams so non-citizens who don’t speak English can get their driver’s licenses without learning the rules of the road — or even demonstrating basic driving ability.
That’s what a longtime former Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) employee told lawmakers and media at the State House on Wednesday during a meeting of the Government Oversight Committee.
John Morin, who worked at the BMV as a license examiner for more than ten years from 2013 to April 2024, said he’s witnessed coordinated and systemic test cheating by non-English-speaking test-takers and their translators, a ruse that has resulted in test-takers with translators passing 100 percent of their exams, as compared to 70 percent for the English-speaking population.
“I had to quit that job because of all of the cheating going on with people from overseas that was happening regularly. I would witness up to 10 or 12 Class C permits a day being issued by us,” Morin told The Robinson Report.
The scheme is simple: a non-English-speaking resident who wants a driver’s license hires a translator who supplies them with the answers, not just translation assistance.
The result is that non-English-speaking applicants are paying the translators for a passing grade, not assistance with a language they don’t speak.
For test-takers who are above the age of 21, this can result in immigrants getting Maine driver’s licenses without ever proving that they can actually drive a motor vehicle, as the driving portion of the exam — the road test — is not required for older applicants.
Morin said that he frequently complained about the license cheating he had witnessed, including to higher-ups within state government, only to be ignored or rebuffed.
“I finally had to leave that job when I wrote up a cheating interpreter for cheating for the applicant that he came in with,” he said.
“I wrote him up and sent a referral for criminal prosecution to our detectives at BMV, and I was written up for writing him up,” he said. “This was after many, many attempts by me to clean up the cheating over the course of my time at BMV.”
“Examiners over my time there have brought this up with our superiors many, many times only to be told that there is no cheating going on or ‘how do we know that there is cheating going on?’ All examiners who deal with this in person day-to-day know that there is cheating going on,” Morin said.
“The Secretary of State’s office, which runs BMV, will always cover for these illegal and unsafe practices,” he said. “I saw this personally from the time that Matt Dunlap was Secretary of State to Shenna Bellows’ time there.”
Maine Wire reporter Jon Fetherston caught up with Morin at the State House to hear his story first hand:
The allegations surfaced Wednesday morning during a hearing of the Government Oversight Committee.
Deputy Secretary of State Catherine Curtis and Christopher J. Ireland, the Driver License Services Director, were present to answer questions about fatal incidents earlier this year involving noncitizens who had obtained valid Maine driving credentials.
The BMV officials present for the hearing acknowledged that they’d heard reports of cheating, but they denied that anyone was ever punished or rebuked for raising concerns about test cheating.
“I’m aware of complaints in the past that we have addressed, that we’ve investigated and we could not find substantial evidence, proof that cheating was taking place,” said Deputy Secretary Catherine Curtis.
“We do not reprimand people for bringing forward information that we can substantiate,” said Curtis.
Non-English-speaking drivers or drivers present in the country illegally have been involved in a string of fatal car accidents in recent years.
In April 2024, around the time that Morin quit the BMV, a 23-year-old illegal alien, Oguzhan Cildir, caused a wreck on I-95 that left an Albion woman dead.
In August, Lionel Francisco, a 31-year-old Angolan national on an expired tourist visa, drove onto a curb in Kennedy Park and struck and killed 74-year-old pedestrian Elizabeth Camacho of Massachusetts.
According to information the BMV gave lawmakers Wednesday, Francisco obtained a driver’s permit without ever having to undergo a road test and just 10 days before he hopped a curb in Lewiston’s Kennedy Park:
“The driver in the August 15 fatal crash — initials LF — was a limited-term noncitizen, non-commercial driver… He obtained a state identification card on 03/15/2025, prior to which he provided federally issued legal presence documents which met Maine law and Department rule requirements. He passed the required written driving exam and obtained his driver’s permit on August 5, 2025.
A second Angolan national in a separate Maine pedestrian fatality around the same time was also arrested by ICE. The second Angolan national also had driving credentials supplied by the Maine DMV.
In addition to the integrity of written exams and the safety questions surrounding driving permit issuance, Republican lawmakers also raised questions about the provision of identity documents, including Real IDs, to noncitizens.
The issuance of state identity documents is governed by Maine law, which gives significant latitude to the Secretary of State and the rule-making process. Under Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, these rules have been construed broadly to provide licenses and identity documents to as many classes of noncitizen as possible.
However, because Real IDs are a federal program, the requirements for obtaining a Real ID are established by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Under USCIS rules, noncitizens who have only an asylum claim and work authorization documents, a.k.a. “asylum seekers,” are not allowed to obtain Real IDs because work documents are not valid proof of legal residency.
“A extended work document, a EAD, which is issued by the federal government and acknowledges somebody’s right to stay in the United States to work through that duration of time, is one of those documents in our Chapter 15 rules that we use to allow staff to issue a state ID or license,” said Ireland, the program lead for the Real ID program.
That comment confirmed that so-called asylum seekers are able to obtain a Maine ID and a driver’s license under the Secretary of State’s rules on the sole basis of work authorization, but it did not address whether federal Real IDs have been given to noncitizens on the basis of the same criteria.
The BMV officials never answered multiple questions about whether the agency had supplied Real IDs to noncitizens solely on the basis of work authorization documents.
Curtis did not respond to an email asking, specifically, whether the BMV is giving Real IDs to noncitizens who have only work documents as proof of legal status.
Morin’s attempts to shed light on the problem included writing a letter to Secretary Bellows and Deputy Secretary Curtis in the aftermath of his departure from the BMV. Read the full letter below:
Well, I’ve moved on to work elsewhere. I imagine that we will all be happier that I’m gone. I need to go where the work is honest.
I’m typing this up on 3/25 in Portland. I’m conducting written tests all day and have issued about 7 dirty permits before lunch. There will be more before the day is done. There is a cheating interpreter behind me doing his thing right now. This happens to be an Arabic man who translates Arabic. He has passed his applicants in front of me about 70 times with no fails. Not one. But nothing to see here, right? Oh wait. Another one just came in late. Nothing unusual there. He has about 25 passes in front of me with no fails. And there will be more in Scarborough tomorrow with the same bunch. And more after that. The Arabic men just walked out with a permit. The applicant paid his money so the interpreter had to deliver. There are about seven of these interpreters that do this on a regular basis. Now multiply the number of passes/no fails that I just provided by about 5-6 and that is a truer number of pass/fails. You have to count the other examiners who deal with these people also. We examiners all know them well and talk about them all the time.
About 70% of class C permit tests have a passing grade statewide. So it is statistically impossible to have this number of passes with no fails. And that 70% is inflated because of all of the cheating. The pass rate is about 10 points higher than when I started in 2013. There was cheating then but it is much worse now. I didn’t check the years between 2013 to now but the pass rate likely goes up every year as the cheating gets progressively worse.
They did not have to read the class C manual to get their permit and it shows. The interpreter will provide the answers. It is not unusual during their road test to be completely on the wrong side of the road. Stopping at crosswalks with no pedestrians. Not turning left when clear because they believe they need a green arrow to turn. You try to make them turn and they sometimes argue with you.
I have worked here for more than ten years. It didn’t take long to see that there is an enormous amount of cheating happening on our class C permit tests. You know the story. You know that it is happening. You condone it. If you don’t think that this happening on a regular basis then you should not be in the position that you are in.
We have a code of conduct which includes ethical behavior. You have honest examiners. We examiners all believe that there is a mass amount of cheating by these applicants and interpreters. These interpreters are collectively raking in a few thousand dollars a week by selling the answers to these applicants. It is not fair to we honest examiners to sit here and let this happen repeatedly just feet away from where we sit.
We were also taught about the integrity of the tests themselves. That is a joke.
You talk about public safety. I lived it for 25 years as a police officer. I worked many shifts where I dealt with many violent people and their victims. I worked all hours of the day and night. I have been assaulted many times. I have been punched, kicked, spat on and almost bitten. I was almost murdered by a man who I had to shoot when he tried to stab me after threatening his girlfriend with that knife. I also dealt with many traffic violations and accidents. Issuing these dirty permits is the opposite of public safety and you should be ashamed that this is happening. You talk the talk but don’t walk the walk regarding public safety.
I feel bad about where some of these immigrants came from. About what they had to endure. But you are teaching them soon after arriving here that it is ok to lie, cheat and steal. To be dishonest. That this is the way to do business here. And I regularly see the honest people who are taking the test themselves. They fail at times. How is it fair that they do it the right way, fail and have to pay $35 to retake the test? It’s not.
I brought these concerns to the prior administration. They told me that they took my concerns seriously and were looking into it. None of us believed that. Matt Dunlap and Patty Morneault had a BMV detective ask we examiners about the cheating. This was only because I had contacted a state legislator about it. Patty then sent us an email. It basically said that examiners believe there is cheating but that nothing would change. There has never been a real attempt to catch these people cheating.
Your administration does the same but is dirtier. I saw the man giving his wife the test answers in Portland three years ago. I wrote him up and sent it to our detectives. You used pretzel logic and lied to absolve the two who were cheating. You said that I didn’t see what I saw that day. I have testified in court numerous times from traffic violations to thefts, assaults, burglary and rape. But I didn’t see what I saw that day. The man was also committing a criminal act. I was the only honest one there and the only one to get into trouble. For being honest. What a way to treat an honest employee. Do you know who lies? Criminals lie about what they did or didn’t do. Or their identity. I’ve seen it a few hundred times as a cop. And my bosses in Augusta.
Your policy, although unwritten is to let this go on unfettered. Since this really is your policy be proud of it. Admit that this is the case. Hell, put it in writing since it is condoned. I have asked for years for something to be put into the interpreter section of our manual regarding what to do if we catch someone cheating. I have been told many times that it would be looked into. There is still nothing in our manual telling us what to do if we catch someone cheating. This must be because you want these cheaters left alone.
The best example is Christophe Lew. He is our number one all time cheating interpreter. I have had him interpret in front of me about 100 times. He has only failed 2-3 times. This was after I told him that he should fail once in a while to try to look honest. Remember that was only in front of me. Multiple examiners have dealt with him in Portland, Scarborough and Kennebunk. What is his real pass/fail rate? 500 passes with 10 Fails?
And then there is this. On two occasions he was waiting to go into the Portland exam room to interpret. People from his community, African saw him waiting to go in. They knew why he was there. They reported this to we examiners who sent it up the chain of command. Nothing was done. He then kept harassing a female service rep in Portland for a date. This kept happening until Jackie, the manager told him to stop. I told Cathy this in our Springvale meeting. Nothing was done and he was allowed to keep coming in. In the fall of 2023 Amy Tripp was administering written tests in Portland. There were three oral tests going on at once. Christophe was one of the interpreters. An African man who was taking his test by himself told Amy that he heard all three interpreters giving out the answers. Amy reported this up the chain of command. Christophe was still allowed to come in. I have not seen him for about three months but they sometimes don’t come in for a time and then come back again.
We had an Arabic translator who came in regularly a few years ago when many Iraqis were coming in. He comes in sporadically now. He has about 100 passes in front of me. And not one fail. Not one. What is his true pass/fail record when you account for all of the other examiners who had him?
I have had some days after issuing many dirty permits where I thought of going public. I think that I should start with the Howie Carr show. He has a New England wide radio audience. I have not done so since I would not be covered under the whistle blower protection laws. Even though I would be telling the truth I would be punished. We can’t have the public know the truth can we?
I have a very detailed report showing what is happening with these tests. It goes back years and would need a little bit of freshening up. And the cheating is so much worse now. I have thought about printing multiple copies and handing them out to a few dozen legislators at the State House. Maybe one of them or more would care about ethics, public safety and the law being violated. And how does our local media not get wind of this then? They might even get tipped off. This is something I may still do after leaving. Especially after being punished for being honest. This letter would be included.
Of course you will lie and say that there is no cheating. Or how can we know that there is cheating? You’ll say that you take the accusations seriously and will look into it. They will all be the lies we’ve heard for years. You already lied to make me the bad guy before so it should come easy to you.
This process is dirty. It is unfair to those applicants who do it honestly. Especially if they fail because they didn’t pay an interpreter for the answers.
One last thing. Get rid of the MVE-81. It is the form that all interpreters fill out. It basically states that they are committing a crime if they provide answers. It will never be used as intended. I tried it that one time and I was written up. It is useless, tedious and insulting to be using this form because if used as intended the examiner gets written up instead of the criminal.
This is DEI coming before ethics, state law and public safety. Everyone should be treated equally but some get special treatment at the expense of others. And the cost could be somebody being badly injured or killed. I told Cathy this in Springvale. If one of these drivers badly hurts or kills someone and is still driving under a permit the family of the harmed will be notified as to how things run here. The media will then certainly find out about it and have some questions.
I know some mental midgets will say that I am a racist for trying to fix this. It’s a regular go to for some people when they disagree with your position, no matter what the subject is. I told Cathy that I would have done the same if the cheaters were from Germany, Italy, Sweden or Norway. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I wish that you could understand that. I suppose you do but don’t care.
Well, good on you for trying , Sir. When something bad happens (like some tragic accident that takes a family member) and these goons are involved , the blood will be on their hands , not yours. It sure seems like cheating is the way to go in life these days. I hate liars, cheaters , frauds and thieves. We do need the big guns to come to Maine or someone that will listen.
All elected Maine Democrats are rotten to the CORE. ALL OF THEM!