Miami man’s identity gets stolen, two state employees fired – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
When you go to the DMV you never expect your I.D. will end up in somebody else’s hands, but that happened to one Miami man and now two state employees have been fired. 7’s Kevin Ozebek investigates.
This scratch on Lloyd Gayle’s car is where this story begins.
Lloyd Gayle: “If it wasn’t for this incident, then I would have never known.”
It was just days before Christmas. Lloyd finished his shift as a bailiff at the Miami-Dade County Court House and stopped at a Family Dollar Store.
As he was pulling into a spot, the door of the truck parked next to him swung open.
Lloyd Gayle: “This gentleman, he opened up his car door, his driver’s side door in such an aggressive manner it hit my car. In fact, my car shook.”
Lloyd called the police. As standard procedure, the Miami officer ran his driver’s license.
Lloyd Gayle: “I approach the police car, and he says, ‘I want you to look at my laptop,’ and I look at the laptop.”
On the screen, Lloyd saw his license with his name and his address, but another man’s picture.
Lloyd Gayle: “I see my driver’s license, but there is another individual’s picture afixed to my driver’s license. At that point, I’m floored.”
To figure out how this could have happened, Lloyd went to the state drivers license office on Northwest 27th Avenue in Miami.
Lloyd spoke to a manager who told him a man was arrested here weeks earlier for having a fraudulent version of Lloyd’s I.D.
Kevin Ozebek: “Why did they not contact you then?”
Lloyd Gayle: “That’s a great question.”
The Florida Highway Patrol arrested Jeffrey Jerome Hepburn. They say he obtained licenses not just under Lloyd’s name, but under two other identities as well.
Troopers say he was taken into custody at the license office after trying to get an I.D. under yet another person’s name.
Lloyd Gayle: “This individual has my address, has my social security number, but I don’t know anything about him. Again, I’m floored.”
And here’s where this gets more shocking. According to the arrest report, Hepburn told investigators there are people who “work inside the drivers license office, which assist him obtaining fraudulent identifications.”
We contacted the Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle office in Tallahassee. A spokesperson told us the department “immediately launched an investigation” as soon as fraud was suspected.
And as a result, two employees, Sheila L. Swindle and Nakia Mackey, were terminated for being involved in the fraudulent transactions.
In a text message, Mackey told us she absolutely did not help anyone get phony I.D.’s. Customers getting I.D.’s at the Miami office were stunned.
David Patrick: “Oh, man, that is crazy.”
Latavia Green: “That’s very inappropriate and unprofessional.”
Lloyd could not agree more.
Lloyd Gayle: “God forbid, but if any of this happens again, then there needs to be some type of measures where the victims are being notified, because again, only reason why I knew was because I was in a car accident.”
And given all it exposed, Lloyd is now grateful for that scratch to his car.
On the very same day, Lloyd learned his identify was compromised at the license office. He started receiving mail about fraudulent checks in his name.
The State Attorney’s office is now investigating.
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