Crime & Safety

Former Arlington County DMV Employee Sentenced for Bribery

Francisco Samayoa Hernandez helped luxury car buyer to avoid paying taxes.

A former Arlington County employee was sentenced to two years in prison Monday for receiving bribes, according to a news release from the FBI.

Francisco Samayoa Hernandez (“Samayoa”), 33, of Silver Spring, Md., was sentenced to prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for receiving bribes in connection with his work as a tax assessor supervisor at the Arlington County Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Select office. Samayoa also was ordered to pay approximately $21,000 in restitution to the DMV and to forfeit $11,480 in bribe payments to the government.

Samayoa pleaded guilty on March 18. According to court documents, from July 2012 through November 2013, Samayoa received $11,480 in bribes from a vehicle exporter in exchange for providing vehicle titles and falsifying DMV paperwork that allowed the exporter to avoid paying state motor vehicle sales and use tax in connection with the registration and titling of various luxury automobiles. 

Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In exchange for the bribes, Samayoa enabled the exporter to avoid paying approximately $25,000 due to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the registration and titling of a Lamborghini and multiple Ferraris, Porsches, and Mercedes. 

Samayoa also enabled another individual to avoid paying approximately $16,536 in state motor vehicle sales and use tax in connection with the registration and titling of two Lamborghinis.

Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Samayoa was an Arlington County employee, and the Arlington County Commissioner of Revenue contracts with the DMV to provide vehicle-related services at its local office.

Samayoa also served as a "straw buyer" for the exporter and purchased three BMWs in his name. In connection with these transactions, Samayoa falsely certified to a dealership that he was not purchasing the vehicle for export, and the dealership relied on that certification in making the sale.

Any person who believes they may have information regarding public corruption in the Northern Virginia area is encouraged to call the FBI’s Northern Virginia Public Corruption Hotline at 703-686-6225 or send an e-mail to NOVAPC@ic.fbi.gov.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.