YORK COUNTY, MAINE — A Sanford man is out on bail after investigators caught him running an unlicensed commercial driver’s license school in York County. Students paid him thousands of dollars for CDL training. They never got their licenses.
Paul Rumery faces eight charges connected to the scheme. Investigators with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles found Rumery operating an unlicensed driver’s education school for truck drivers. He claimed he worked for Hannaford, training company drivers on commercial vehicles. In reality, he was teaching people from outside companies on the side — without a valid driver education license. He charged students significantly less than what a state-approved driving school would charge. Authorities believe he used low prices to lure students away from legitimate schools.
“Two Years and Nothing”
Leon Jackson paid Rumery $10,000 to get CDL licenses for himself, his son, and two friends. None of them received a license. “I was trying for two years to get a CDL from him, roughly two years,” Jackson said. He later discovered Rumery never submitted his application to the BMV for certification. To finally get his license, Jackson paid a second driving school in Brunswick to start over.
Legitimate Schools Felt the Impact
Ronald Vance, owner of GoDrivingSchool, was among those who reported Rumery to the state. He says Rumery’s artificially low prices pulled students away from his legitimate operation. “I had to compete with a non-competitively licensed school,” Vance said. “It is very depressing, very frustrating and makes you maybe not want to run your business anymore.” He added: “There’s a lot of damage that this has done, and it took a long time for them to finally get to this point.”
The Maine Secretary of State stressed that CDL training must go through properly licensed providers to protect both consumers and public safety. Rumery’s summons is still pending. He faces court on April 30.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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