Former Idaho CDL skills tester sentenced for taking bribes in exchange for passing test scores

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – A 72-year-old of Gooding, Idaho was sentenced to two years in federal prison for honest services wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced Thursday.

U.S. District Court Judge Amanda K. Brailsford imposed the sentence, which also requires Kelly Nathaniel Goodman to forfeit $38,000. 

To obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in Idaho, an applicant must, among other requirements, receive a passing score from a CDL skills test examiner. The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) contracts with third-party CDL skills test examiners to administer CDL skills tests in Idaho. 

According to court records, since the 1990s until late 2021, Goodman was an Idaho CDL skills test examiner. Between December 2017 and May 2020, Goodman engaged in a scheme and artifice to defraud ITD’s right to honest services while serving as an Idaho CDL skills tester. Without the knowledge or permission of ITD, Goodman accepted at least $38,000 in bribes in return for providing passing scores on Idaho CDL skills tests. Goodman specifically pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe on August 31, 2021, in return for giving an individual a passing score on an Idaho CDL skills test. 

U.S. Attorney Hurwit credited the cooperative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Transportation—Office of Inspector General, which led to the charges.