Beshear says IDs were revoked, didn’t confirm undocumented ‘pay-for-ID’ claim
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said nearly 2,000 driver’s licenses were revoked in an investigation earlier this year, but did not confirm if that happened because of an alleged illegal scheme for undocumented immigrants to get licenses.
That was the claim Melissa Moorman, a Louisville resident and former clerk at a Kentucky driver’s licensing branch, made in a whistleblower complaint first reported by Louisville television station WDRB. She claimed she was fired in retaliation for revealing on the practice.
Beshear said Wednesday that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet had revoked 1,985 credentials after it conducted one of its regular reviews and “identified a number of irregularities.”
The governor added that all employees involved were hired through a temporary staffing agency and have been “terminated.”
“KYTC immediately contacted law enforcement who are engaged in a criminal investigation, and it includes multiple offices that are both state and federal,” Beshear said. “The revoked credentials, if used, would not work at an airport, would be flagged if pulled over at a traffic stop. We are committed to getting all of the facts into holding anybody who violated the law accountable.”
When asked, the governor did not confirm if the revocations were made because those getting the IDs were undocumented immigrants.
“There are a number of different reasons people might try to get fake identification, and I want to make sure I don’t get in front of the Kentucky State Police in their current investigation. But when that’s complete, we look forward to sharing any and all of those facts,” Beshear said.
Moorman claimed that coworkers were taking $200 to give licenses to undocumented immigrants several times a day at multiple locations.
“The employees were being paid under the table. I immediately let my supervisor know,” Moorman told Louisville.
The governor said he didn’t know if Moorman was fired because of her complaint. He did add, however, that “some statements” she made were not true.
“I don’t have information on that,” Beshear said. “I haven’t read that complaint. What I do know is that there are at least some statements in that complaint that are not factual and that don’t follow how the original investigation went.”
State Auditor Allison Ball, a Republican, sent a letter Wednesday to Beshear and Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray requesting a formal explanation on the subject.
In the letter, Ball called for greater public transparency and asked Beshear and Gray for an “explanation of your action plan to address all of these serious matters.”
“If these reports prove true, this is very concerning as it will mean not only that licenses are being issued illegally, but also that these ‘contraband’ licenses are issued in a manner faster and more efficiently than those provided to legal citizens who are following the rules, waiting their turn, and doing everything asked of them under the law,” Ball wrote.
Attorney General Russell Coleman is also involved. The Republican told the Herald-Leader in a statement that his office has been “aggressively investigating this potential fraud for some time now.”
“This week’s media reports show troubling and unacceptable conduct. Hand in hand with our state and federal law enforcement partners, we’ve been aggressively investigating this potential fraud for some time now, well before this week’s reporting,” Coleman wrote.
State Sen. Aaron Reed, R-Shelbyville, responded to the controversy with a promise to introduce legislation to revert driver’s licensing duties back to the county level in the 2026 legislative session. Reed is rumored to be considering a challenge to 4th Congressional District Rep. Thomas Massie.
This story was originally published August 13, 2025 at 3:15 PM.
