Three accused of using hidden cameras, earpieces to cheat on Florida driver license exam

Three men were arrested Wednesday after investigators said they used hidden cameras and earpieces to cheat on Florida’s driver license knowledge exam at a Miami-Dade County testing office.

The arrests were announced Thursday by the Miami-Dade County Office of the Tax Collector following a joint investigation with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

According to the tax collector’s office, detectives with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Public Corruption Unit were investigating alleged fraudulent activity on July 15 outside the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector’s Midway Crossings Office.

Investigators said the scheme involved Karel Clavel-Beltran using strategically placed cameras and electronic earpieces to help Miguel Nunez-Garcia and Alexis Fernandez while they took the computer-based Florida driver license knowledge exam.

Authorities said Nunez-Garcia and Alexis Fernandez are accused of cheating on the exam, while Clavel-Beltran is accused of facilitating the scheme.

The office alleges the suspects entered the testing location wearing hidden devices, including microphones and recording equipment. WSVN also reported the arrests are part of an ongoing crackdown on driver license exam fraud that dates back to June.

“Obtaining a Florida driver license is a privilege, not a right,” Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez said in the release. “When individuals attempt to cheat the testing process, they undermine the integrity of the system and put public safety at risk.”

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Fernandez said fraud has no place in tax collector offices or around government facilities, and that people who try to obtain government-issued credentials through deception should expect to be held accountable.

According to WSVN, Alexis Fernandez and Nunez-Garcia appeared in bond court Thursday morning. The station reported the men faced charges including cheating, unlawful use of a communications device and organized scheme to defraud.

WSVN reported all three men were granted bond. Clavel-Beltran was being held on an $8,000 bond pending an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold, Nunez-Garcia had posted a $7,650 bond but was also being held for ICE officials, and Alexis Fernandez was being held on a $2,500 bond, according to the station.

The Miami-Dade County Office of the Tax Collector said it has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and will continue working with MDSO, FLHSMV and other agencies to detect and prevent fraudulent activity at service centers and surrounding areas.