Woman convicted in driver’s license scheme sentenced to five months in prison

A former Department of Revenue and Taxation worker was sentenced on Wednesday to five months behind bars for processing at least 75 fraudulent driver’s licenses in exchange for money.

Linda Jean Palacios and another former Rev and Tax employee, Lourdes Blas, were charged in federal court this year for licenses processed in 2015.

Palacios pleaded guilty in August. Her plea agreement stated when Palacios worked at the department’s Motor Vehicle Division in 2015, she would input information from applications for driver’s licenses into the department’s database, print a receipt and give it to her co-worker, Blas.

Palacios’ attorney, Peter C. Perez, said it was Blas who approached Palacios about the scheme.

Palacios would get about $200 for every application she processed, court documents stated.

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Palacios also said she thought she wouldn’t get caught because she did it when nobody was around, said Stephen Leon Guerrero, assistant U.S. Attorney.

She pleaded guilty to unauthorized access of a protected computer in furtherance of fraud.

On Wednesday, Palacios appeared through video conference. She said she was struggling financially in 2015 and she and her husband had medical difficulties.

“There is no excuse for what I have done,” Palacios said, adding that she regretted her actions and hasn't committed any offenses since.  She asked the judge for probation or home confinement. She has asthma and was concerned about the impact on her health considering the spread of COVID-19.

Palacios’ attorney also asked the judge for a probation or home confinement sentence.

The probation office noted that Palacios had 10 positive drug tests while on pretrial release and four more tests were presumptive positive for methamphetamine. The probation office recommended a 30-day sentence. The prosecution recommended Palacios get a five-month sentence.

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Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood ultimately decided on a five-month sentence and ordered Palacios to turn herself in the same day, despite Perez’s request to allow Palacios to surrender after Thanksgiving.

Tydingco-Gatewood said it was a serious crime, and she pointed out the positive drug tests. Palacios previously said the positives were false positives because of her medication, but officials confirmed her medication wouldn’t produce a positive result for meth, according to Tydingco-Gatewood.

Tydingco-Gatewood also ordered that Palacios write a letter of apology to the director of the Department of Revenue and Taxation.

Palacios requested she serve her time on Guam at the Department of Corrections. She was ordered to pay $5,625 in restitution.

When she is released from prison, Palacios will be on supervised release for three years.

This article originally appeared on Pacific Daily News: Woman convicted in driver’s license scheme sentenced to five months in prison