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Prosecutors: 31 charged in Coast Guard test-fixing scheme

A Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 aircrew medevac one mariner and one dog from an aground vessel Nov. 18, 2020, near Yellow Cotton Bay, Louisiana. The aircrew arrived on scene and hoisted the mariner and his dog to Plaquemines Medical Center in stable condition. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — More than 30 people have been charged for their participation in a test score-fixing scheme at a United States Coast Guard exam center in Louisiana.

Federal prosecutors said in a news release Monday that Dorothy Smith, a former employee at an exam center in Mandeville, took bribes from merchant mariners to change their exam scores. The mariners were required to pass the exams to obtain licenses for positions on ships.


Six people, including two former Coast Guard employees, are accused of acting as intermediaries for Smith. All of them, including Smith, have been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Prosecutors say 24 current and former merchant mariners were charged with unlawfully receiving officer-level licenses.