Judge pumps the brakes on DOT, DHS demand for CDLIS records
Given the tight timeline of the demands for states’ CDL records from the Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. District Court Judge Anthony J. Trenga effectively stopped all parties from moving forward with demands while lawsuits play out.
The dispute stems from a pair of suits filed Aug. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after the federal agencies sought some 17 million driver records from the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS).
In one suit, 21 states and D.C. sued U.S. DOT, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, agency leaders, and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). A second lawsuit, brought by 22 states and D.C., targeted DHS over an identical data demand.
Judge Trenga’s order enjoins AAMVA from providing the demanded data and information to any of the defendants or any other agency acting in coordination with the defendants. It also enjoins DOT, DHS and other defendants from taking adverse actions as a result of its data demand against AAMVA or the states, such as terminating or threatening to terminate AAMVA’s or plaintiff states’ federal contracts or funding.
Within the last year, U.S. DOT hasn’t been shy about threatening and/or actually following through on withholding money from states over alleged missteps of their non-domiciled CDL programs for non-citizen drivers.
DOT and DHS were given a deadline of Monday, Aug. 17, at 5 p.m. Eastern to file any opposition with the court, and a deadline of Wednesday, Aug. 19, at noon Eastern for states to file their reply to the opposition.
After the lawsuits were filed, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said DOT “will fight this lawsuit tooth and nail to prevent more senseless crashes by unqualified drivers.”
[Related: States sue DOT, DHS over demands for drivers’ CDLIS records]
Georgia tax pro accused of defrauding truck owner-operators
A Georgia-based accountant and tax preparer has been charged in a 54-count indictment for allegedly defrauding at least 26 people, mostly self-employed truck drivers, according to a press release by U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes for the Middle District of Georgia.
Diane Marie Poe, 62, of Loganville, Georgia, was charged Aug. 12 with 32 counts of bank fraud and more than 20 other counts alleging misdeeds from making false returns to federal program theft. The alleged tax fraud scheme is part of an ongoing National Fraud Enforcement Division investigation led by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service.
According to the indictment, Poe is the owner of Genuine Financial Services, Inc. (GFS), an accounting and tax preparation service in Walton County, Georgia, that employed several people. The company provided bookkeeping, payroll, and payroll tax services, as well as business and personal tax preparation and filing, mostly for individuals employed in the trucking industry.
As part of their services, clients would pay over to GFS their estimated payroll taxes.
Poe allegedly defrauded at least 26 individuals, mostly self-employed truck drivers, by accepting payments for tax and filing services she did not deliver, including collecting estimated payroll or trust fund taxes but failing to remit them to the IRS. She is also accused of failing to file her personal and business taxes properly and of failing to pay payroll taxes for her employees.
If convicted Poe faces potentially untold years behind bars as penalty — maximum of 30 years in prison per count of bank fraud; five years’ imprisonment per count of failure to pay over taxes; one year imprisonment per count of failure to file a corporate return; three years’ imprisonment per count of making a false return; and 10 years’ imprisonment per count of federal program theft. (There is no parole in the federal system.)
Many of Poe’s clients in the trucking business came from word of mouth, the U.S. Attorney noted. If any individuals used GFS tax services or employed Poe for tax services and believe they might be victims of fraud, please call the FBI Atlanta at (770) 216-3000.
Kodiak obtains permit to test autonomous trucks in California
Autonomous truck tech developer Kodiak AI announced Friday that it has received a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles that allows autonomous vehicle testing in the state.
California cleared the way for autonomous trucks to operate in the state earlier this year, with the DMV adopting one of the most comprehensive autonomous vehicle regulations in the country. Under the framework, manufacturers must follow a tiered permitting process, starting with human safety drivers before moving to driverless testing. To reach the next phase, light-duty vehicles must log 50,000 test miles, while heavy-duty trucks are required to complete 500,000 miles.
Kodiak obtained a permit under the state’s new regulations Aug. 13, which allows Kodiak to operate in California with a safety driver behind the wheel.
[Related: AI in the driver’s seat? Tony Justice v. Suno a ‘fight for the little guy’]
“California’s comprehensive autonomous vehicle regulations are a major unlock for freight innovation,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak. “This permit allows us to begin the first phase of scaling autonomous trucking coast-to-coast, while ensuring appropriate safety oversight from California regulators.”
Kodiak’s permit marks the first step in the DMV’s phased permitting approach, which progresses from driver-in testing to driver-out testing and, ultimately, driver-out deployment.
“California’s autonomous trucking regulations have been more than a decade in the making and are the result of extensive input and thorough reviews from a diverse set of stakeholders,” said Daniel Goff, vice president of external affairs at Kodiak. “They enable innovation in our home state while providing regulators with appropriate oversight and enforcement mechanisms.”
[Related: Teamsters vow fight after California clears road for autonomous trucks]
