Feds charge ex-tax worker

The woman is accused of peddling drivers' licenses.

By CARRIE WEIMAR, Times Staff Writer
Published August 15, 2007

TAMPA - A former employee in the Hillsborough County tax collector's office who has been accused of abusing her position by selling drivers' licenses to people without proper documentation now faces a federal charge.

Deisy Oropesa, 30, was charged with conspiracy to solicit and accept bribes Monday. Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa say Oropesa was part of a "large scale fraud" to give illegal immigrants drivers' licenses in exchange for money.

The federal affidavit says Oropesa, a senior customer service representative for the tax collector, told investigators she was part of an organized scheme to peddle drivers' licenses for $200 apiece. She said she pocketed more than $25,000.

She worked in the driver's license section at the tax collector's office on Waters Avenue.

Tax officials began noticing problems with Oropesa's transactions in September and notified the Florida Highway Patrol. Oropesa resigned just before she was arrested on 174 counts of unlawful compensation for official behavior, official misconduct and driver's license fraud. The case was transferred to federal court last week.

An affidavit submitted by an agent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement described the elaborate scheme.

One of the undocumented immigrants who obtained a license from Oropesa told authorities she paid $1,200 to a middleman and he instructed her to go to the counter where Oropesa was working and say "Hello, Laura." The code phrase told Oropesa the woman had paid a middleman and she should issue a fraudulent license, the affidavit said.

After her arrest Nov. 8, Oropesa said she performed similar transactions many times during the past nine months, working with multiple middlemen.

Oropesa's actions raised concerns because she was altering official records, making it appear that people were American citizens, the affidavit said. False driver's license records can lead to citizenship status for someone who is not legally in the country.

Oropesa is being held on $25,000 bail.

[Last modified August 15, 2007, 00:36:28]