Philip Mungin, Forgery & Identity Theft, Maryland 2023

Army Veteran Pleads Guilty to Forgery and Identity Theft Charges in Maryland

Philip Mungin, a 58-year-old Army veteran from Bryans Road, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to forgery of a military discharge certificate and identity theft in connection with a scheme in which Mungin provided fraudulent DD-214 discharge certificates to individuals for fraudulent military waiver applications for commercial driver’s licenses in exchange for payment.

The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Jamie Mazzone, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, Washington Regional Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Mid-Atlantic Field Office.

According to his guilty plea, between 1997 and 1999, Mungin was enlisted in the Army. Upon Mungin’s discharge in 1999, Victim 1, was the “Senior Transition Specialist” who helped process Mungin’s discharge and signed Mungin’s military discharge certificate, known as the DD-214.

Federal law mandates that drivers of commercial vehicles, such as tractor-trailers and semi-trucks, obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Among other requirements, CDL applicants must pass both a written test and a driving skills test. Third-parties, such as driving schools, are authorized to train prospective CDL holders and administer the necessary tests, however, this training generally takes weeks to complete and may cost students $3,000 to $7,000. The Department of Transportation implemented a program in 2011, aimed at helping U.S. military veterans to get jobs by allowing states to waive the driving skills test for U.S. military veterans who could provide proof that they had been trained to operate the relevant vehicles in the military.

As detailed in the plea agreement, in December 2018, employees at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) office in Waldorf, Maryland, became suspicious of waiver documents submitted by an applicant and confronted the applicant. The applicant, who had never been in the military, identified Mungin as the person who offered to help him get a CDL by submitting falsified military paperwork.

Mungin admitted that he falsified DD-214s and military waiver forms for drivers wanting to obtain CDLs, in exchange for the drivers paying Mungin—reportedly between $500 to $2,000 each. Employees at the Waldorf MVA were familiar with Mungin because he often accompanied applicants with fraudulent paperwork to obtain their licenses, typically wearing a military uniform while doing so.

Mungin acknowledged that he received between $15,000 and $40,000 to create false military paperwork, including DD-214s, to assist drivers in fraudulently obtaining CDLs.

Defendant: Philip Mungin

Criminal Charges: forgery of a military discharge certificate and identity theft

City and State: Greenbelt, Maryland

Date: Not specified

Sentence: Not specified

Dollar Amount: $15,000 to $40,000

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