Step #1: They cut a hole in their T-shirts. First Coast News shows how people in Jacksonville cheat to get licensed to drive trucks.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —
It all starts with a T-shirt—with a hole cut into it. First Coast News obtained photos and video exclusively, and they’re tied to a shocking cheating scheme happening in Jacksonville. Investigators say people have been rigging their way into commercial driver’s licenses, putting everyone on Florida highways at risk.


On August 12,  a truck driver in South Florida was arrested after a crash that killed three people. The Florida Department of Transportation reported that the driver made an illegal U-turn across a median despite clear signage stating “Official Use Only – No U Turn.” DOT testing showed he could not identify three out of four road signs.

Police in New Mexico have released body cam footage showing the driver, from India, spoke in broken English during a traffic stop. The driver, Harjinder Singh, is charged in Florida with three count of vehicular homicide. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the situation alarming:

“They did an English test and he failed abysmally… not even close. But how ridiculous is it for someone to get a commercial driver’s license and not understand the language of this country and not understand road signs?”

How the cheating scheme worked


First Coast News uncovered evidence that cheating on DMV tests for commercial licenses is happening in Jacksonville. Five men have been arrested in connection with the scheme.  Their charges –felony charges including communications fraud and unlawful license applications. Investigators say the men used hidden phones and earpieces to cheat on DMV tests.  One man is was sentenced in April to eight months behind bars.  One was turned over to ICE.  The other three completed felony pre-trial intervention and court records show their cases were dismissed.   

Here’s how the scheme worked, according to investigators at the Florida Highway Patrol: 

  • The men would arrive at the DMV wearing a T-shirt with a small hole cut into it. Hidden inside was a phone connected to someone outside the DMV who could see the test questions in real time.

  • An earpiece allowed the men to receive the correct answers while taking the test. Some even unbuttoned their shirts to better conceal the device, blending it into the harness under their clothes.

  • The scheme was highly organized. Investigators identified multiple addresses in Jacksonville where dozens of men were registered as applicants, even though the homes were far too small to actually house them all.

  • Some of the arrested men requested interpreters because they could not speak or read English, including Ukrainian and other foreign languages.

Authorities say the cheating scheme allowed drivers who could not understand English to obtain commercial licenses, putting the public at serious risk. Sergeant Dylan Bryan with the Florida Highway Patrol calls it “organized fraud” and warns that these operations may extend across the state.

Sgt. Bryan praises the employees at the testing locations for reporting suspicious behavior when the men wiggled in their chairs to position the iPhone cameras. 


The danger of the scheme is deeply personal. In Nassau County, eight years ago, Connor Dzion, a Creekside High School graduate and UNF freshman, was killed in a truck crash.

The driver involved admitted under deposition that he could not read English, therefore not being capable of reading road signs. 

“The sign said ‘slow down, traffic stopped ahead,'” says Attorney Curry Pajcic, who is representing Connor’s family. He says there were “at least three” signs. 

Connor’s mother still wears a necklace with her son’s fingerprint, the last tangible piece of him she has.

Now, she is pushing for Connor’s Law, a federal bill aimed at keeping truck drivers who don’t speak English off U.S. roads. The bill currently has 14 sponsors, including Representative John Rutherford from Northeast Florida. Connor’s mother, Mellissa, is urging the public to help pass the legislation by signing a petition.

Pajcic says, “The people in big trucks… they are killers in crashes… and we in our Hyundais get killed and they walk away.”

The investigation into commercial driver license cheating schemes continues statewide, and authorities warn this is just the tip of the iceberg. Connor’s Law seeks to give law enforcement the power to remove unsafe drivers from the road, protecting families and children from preventable tragedies. 


Pajcic says Connor’s Law is needed now more than ever. He’s upset three more people had to die to get attention focused on the danger of truck drivers who are unable to read and understand English. He says even though President Donald Trump signed an executive order to make that a requirement, another White House administration could rescind that.  

That’s why Pacjic, Connor’s mom, Mellissa Dzion, and James Lamb are pushing for Connor’s Law. Lamb is head of the Small Business in Transportation Coalition, which has 21,000 members, including many truckers. 

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced August 25th that all truck agricultural inspection stations throughout the state will also serve as checkpoints for English language proficiency and immigration checks.  Still, though, supporters of Connor’s Law are pushing for a federal law to set the issue in stone. 


Visual Explainer: How the Cheating Scheme Worked

  1. T-Shirt with Hole – Applicants wore a T-shirt with a small hole cut into it to hide a phone.

  2. Hidden Phone – Someone outside the DMV could see the test questions in real time.

  3. Earpiece – The applicant received the correct answers through a hidden earpiece.

  4. DMV Test – Using the phone and earpiece, the applicant completed the commercial driver’s test without knowing English.

  5. Result – Drivers who could not read or speak English obtained commercial licenses, putting all road users at risk.