The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles officially has a new leader to steer the agency in the wake of the crisis involving the widespread sale of fraudulent paper license plates.
At a meeting Wednesday, the TxDMV board selected Daniel Avitia as the agency’s executive director.
Avitia has served as the agency’s acting executive director for much of 2022.
Whitney Brewster, the agency’s former executive director, stepped down earlier this year as the board called for more sweeping changes to deal with the ongoing paper tag problem.
In selecting Avitia, board members praised his efforts to address the recent crisis.
“I think you have done an incredible job of stepping into a very tumultuous time,” TxDMV Board Member Manny Ramirez said, addressing Avitia at Wednesday’s meeting.
As a series of reports from NBC 5 Investigates has shown, lax security at the TxDMV allowed crooks to obtain Texas car dealer licenses and then sell massive numbers of fraudulent paper tags for profit.
Law enforcement officials said many of those tags have false driver information entered into the state system, creating what police call “ghost cars,” which make it difficult for police to determine the real owner of the vehicle.
Some of the fraudulent tags sold on the black market have been put on cars used to commit other serious crimes, including drug and human smuggling and violent crimes, the NBC 5 investigation has shown.
On Wednesday, Avitia said the agency continues to step up its efforts to block dealers suspected of fraud from accessing the state’s electronic temporary plate system. Since the start of this year, Avitia said the DMV has suspended access for 50 small dealers.
PREVIOUS REPORTS
May 18, 2022 – TxDMV Names New Executive Director Amid Paper Tag CrisisMay 17, 2022 – Vehicle Used in Dallas Salon Shooting Had Paper TagMay 12, 2022 – Ads for Fake Tags Persist, Despite Facebook, TxDMV EffortsMay 4, 2022 – Texas’ Paper Tag Problem Compounded by Small Dealers Misusing ThemMay 3, 2022 – Dallas Police Shut Down Accused Fake Paper Tag DealerApril 26, 2022 – Texas House Set to Hold Paper Tag HearingsApril 14, 2022 – Texas DMV Cracks Down on Dealers Selling Temporary Paper TagsApril 13, 2022 – TxDMV Closes Inspection Loophole That Put Unsafe Cars on RoadsApril 12, 2022 – Dallas Police Go Undercover to Fight Illegal Paper TagsApril 7, 2022 – Police Warn of Fake Paper Tags Used to Cheat Car BuyersApril 5, 2022 – Texas Senate Will Investigate Illegal Paper Tag Crimes, SmugglingMarch 9, 2022 – Texas Paper Tag Crime Danger Extends NationwideMarch 5, 2022 – Texas House Will Hold Hearings on Paper Tag MessFeb. 28, 2022 – License to Smuggle: Drug Cartels and Human Smugglers Use Paper Texas Tags to EvadeFeb. 15, 2022 – Fort Worth Police Announce Special Operation Targeting Paper TagsFeb. 14, 2022 — Crash Victim’s Parents Want More Cops to Police Paper Tag FraudFeb. 13, 2022 – More Funding Need to Fight Criminals Using Bogus Paper Tags: PoliceFeb. 10, 2022 – Police Report Drop in Fraudulent Tags But Warn Crooks Are AdaptingFeb. 9, 2022 – Texas DMV Shuts Down Six More Dealers Suspected of Selling Paper License TagsFeb. 7, 2022 – TxDMV Director Resigns Amidst Paper Tag MessJan. 27, 2022 – TxDMV Takes Emergency Action to Keep Crooks From Selling Paper TagsJan. 21, 2022 – Dallas Police Operation Targets Fraudulent Paper TagsJan. 17, 2022 – Recording Shows Police Warned TxDMV of Paper Tag Security Flaw Years AgoDec. 16, 2021 – DMV Committee Recommends Fingerprinting Some Dealers to Slow Paper Tag FraudDec. 14, 2021 – Texas House Transportation Chair Vows to Stop Paper Tag FraudDec. 6, 2021 – Texas DMV Boss Deflects Blame for Paper Tag DebacleNov. 23, 2021 – Illegal Paper Tags Costing Texas Taxpayers and Toll Roads MillionsNov. 10, 2021 – Suspected Paper Tag Peddler Shut Down Tuesday, Reopens Wednesday: InvestigatorsNov. 8, 2021 – How Texas Paper Tags Became a $200M Criminal Enterprise: NBC 5 Investigates
