Dorothy Smith, Test-Fixing, Louisiana 2024

Former Coast Guard Employee Sentenced for Test-Fixing Scheme

A former employee of the U.S. Coast Guard has been sentenced for her role in a bribery scheme that compromised the integrity of merchant mariner licenses.

Dorothy Smith, 67, a credentialing specialist at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Regional Exam Center (REC) New Orleans in Mandeville, Louisiana, was sentenced to five years imprisonment for engaging in a bribery scheme to fix exam scores.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Smith accepted bribes to fix exam scores in a scheme that began prior to April 2012. Mariners participating in Smith’s scheme would usually not appear for the examinations. Smith would create Coast Guard records and data entries to make it appear to the Coast Guard that the mariners had appeared and tested. She would make up passing scores and enter them in a Coast Guard computer system. Smith would then send emails to a Coast Guard office falsely stating that the mariners had passed the examinations and should receive the desired licenses.

Smith primarily relied on intermediaries to carry out her scheme, including former Coast Guard employee Beverly McCrary, who pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8, 2022. McCrary had her own network of intermediaries, which included mariners Alexis Bell, Micheal Wooten, and Sharron Robinson, who each pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and collectively admitted to having obtained false scores for a total of 31 mariners, including themselves.

Smith’s scheme was uncovered as part of a larger investigation into corruption at the U.S. Coast Guard’s REC New Orleans. The investigation revealed that Smith’s scheme had compromised the integrity of merchant mariner licenses, putting the safety of the public at risk.

In addition to her prison sentence, Smith was also ordered to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

The case is a reminder of the importance of maintaining the integrity of critical infrastructure and the consequences of corruption in the maritime industry.

Mandatory Facts:

Defendant: Dorothy Smith

Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

City and State: New Orleans, Louisiana

Exact Date: Not specified

Sentence: Five years imprisonment and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee

Dollar Amounts: $100

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