b'COAST GUARD REPORT:Large-scale USCG Test Score-Fixing SchemeCOAST GUARDINDICTS 31 INDIVIDUALS, including Three Former Coast Guard EmployeesT he U.S. Attorneys Office announced,U.S.Ifconvicted,eachfacesasentenceofGuardInvestigativeService,andAssistant on November 20, the indictment of 31up to five years imprisonment, a $250,000U.S. Attorney Chandra Menon is in charge of individuals related to a test score-fixingfine, three years of supervised release, and athe prosecution. The U.S. Attorneys Office scheme at a U.S. Coast Guard exam center. mandatory $100 special assessment. reiteratedthattheindictmentismerelya charge and that the defendants guilt must be As alleged in the indictment, Dorothy SmithThis case is being investigated by the Coastproven beyond a reasonable doubt.wasemployedbytheCoastGuardasa credentialingspecialistataMandeville,LA exam center. Her position authorized her to enter scores for examinations that merchant mariners were legally required to pass in order to obtain licenses to serve in various positions on vessels. According to the indictment, for over seven years, Smith engaged in a scheme to defraud the U.S. by allegedly taking bribes to fix exam scores,enablinglicenseapplicantstobypass therequiredtesting.Asaresult,applicants illegally obtained licenses for officer-level vessel positions,includingmaster,chiefmate,andPropelling Passenger Vesselschief engineer.Taking passenger vessels to new horizons with the future-proof technology of Siemens SiSHIP BlueDrive +C Asallegedintheindictment,Smithusedaand Energy Storage systems.network of intermediaries to connect her to maritime workers who were willing to pay for falseexamscores.Theintermediarieswouldusa.siemens.com/marinefunnel money and the mariners requests to Smith, who would falsely report in a Coast Guard computer system that the mariners had passed the exams.Foghorn_MarchPreview_2020_Ad_4.625x3.5.indd 1 2/17/2020 10:58:41 AMAccordingtotheindictment,twoformer Coast Guard employees, Eldridge Johnson and Beverly McCrary, acted as intermediaries for Smith.Additionally,fourmaritimeindustry workers acted as intermediaries in the scheme and also had their own scores fixed by Smith.Inadditiontothedefendantsreferenced above, the indictment charges 24 current and formermerchantmarinerswithunlawfullyMaintenancereceiving officer-level licenses. As alleged in the indictment, each of these individuals receivedSimplified!false scores from Smith, with some receiving false scores on multiple occasions.Smith, Johnson, McCrary, and several others17were charged with conspiracy to defraud the 978-562-5211WheelHouseTech.comDEC 2020 41 COAST GUARD REPORT'