DALLAS — Hundreds of individuals who were in this country illegally have taken advantage of a window of opportunity that allowed them to obtain official Texas licenses. 

According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the alleged mastermind of this scheme is an Israeli-born taxi driver named Isaac Banai.  He came to the United States in 1984 and married an American woman the following year.  In 1996, he became a naturalized citizen. He now lives in an upscale neighborhood in far North Dallas. 

A 32-count indictment charges Banai with helping more than 350 illegal immigrants get official Texas driver's licenses, despite the fact that their visas had expired or never existed.  Some of those illegal immigrants were from countries with terrorist ties -- like Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.  If convicted, Banai faces 470 years in prison.

Senator John Carona is chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security, and says his committee will hold hearings next month to find out how this could have happened. “All of us in government have to take responsibility for it,” he said.  “And even more important is stepping in and fixing the problem.  Anytime you see a breakdown of agencies, it frustrates you, candidly it angers you.  Above all, it gives you reason to be a bit concerned, if not fearful.” 

Sen. Carona told News 8 that authorities have not determined how the licenses have been used by the individuals who obtained them, but said, “I think it's safe to say it's not for a wholesome purpose.”  

The licenses were obtained between 2003 and 2005, and even now Senator Carona says no one knows whether this was a case of foreign nationals just wanting to stay in the U.S. -- or something more sinister.  But whatever the motive, he says pulling off the scheme was surprisingly easy. 

Federal officials say Isaac Banai put an ad in a New York newspaper that promised he could create a new identity — complete with an authentic driver’s license — for $500.  It didn't take long before dozens of people were flying to Dallas to take advantage of his once-in-a-lifetime offer. According to the indictment, he had town cars waiting at DFW International Airport.  Customers were whisked into Dallas, given a crash course on how to pass the Texas driver’s test, and then taken to the nearest dept of motor vehicles office to apply for a Texas driver’s license.  One by one, the illegal applicants declared they had just moved to Texas and gave their new address which turned out to be a Motel 6 in Dallas.

“It really gives you a sick feeling, not just as a legislator, not just as a chair of this committee, but as an average Texan,” Carona said about the security lapse.  “Tragically, this many years after 9/11 we shouldn't be seeing these sorts of problems, but we are.”

State officials believe Isaac Banai was also behind a second scam that managed to get vehicle inspection stickers and texas plates for hundreds of vehicles, despite the fact that the cars were not in Texas but on the east coast.  .

“I can assure you, people recognize this as a serious error, not a minor one, and that these kinds of breaches of security, especially in this age of heightened homeland security and awareness just can't continue,” Sen. Carona said.

One of the biggest problems, he said, is that none of the agencies involved are linked to a computerized system that can identify fraud, but now “the agencies are looking at the holes in the system that allowed these individuals to exploit the system.”

The Department of Public Safety said that without the names of the service stations that did those fake inspections, it can't take action against them.  And, although the U.S. Attorney alerted the agency that hundreds of licenses had been illegally obtained, it took more than a year before the licenses were finally canceled.  The DPS does plan to overhaul its computer system early next year.   

The only person arrested so far has been Isaac Banai, the taxi driver who lives here in Dallas.  He has pleaded not guilty.  Authorities believe most of the 350 illegal immigrants who came to Dallas and got new identities have returned to the east coast armed with everything they need to claim they are U.S. citizens.

“Those credentials are in the hands of people who shouldn't have them,” Carona said, “and that's of great concern to all of us.”