A Seattle man closed his driving school after state investigators claim instructors gave away fake passing grades for hundreds to thousands of dollars, KING 5 reports.
Reporters obtained an audit report by the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL), which shows that some instructors working at Emerald City Driving School sold passing grades for as much as $2,000 to $4,000. The investigation was conducted by the agency's Transportation Services Fraud and Investigations Unit in May.
Investigators found that this scheme has been going on from 2017 to June this year. At least 2,000 applicants got fake passing grades to obtain a driver's license. Some applicants never took tests while others didn't even know basic driving rules, the report claims.
Several employee complaints in the report claim "many of the examiners [redacted] passed are illiterate with no driving skills. This is unfair to every other WA state license holder and a potential threat to the road safety in WA."
Steve Wong, who owned the school, closed his business following the audit's findings, according to the DOL. In a statement he wrote to the agency, Wong says when an applicant paid for a knowledge or skills test, they "passed without taking a test."
Officials add that he no longer has a license to operate a driving school in Washington.
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