San Francisco prosecutors have charged three people with applying for disabled placards permits they did not need, and a spokeswoman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles says more arrests are expected.
District Attorney George Gascón said Monday that Qiaoyun Chen, a 50-year-old woman, and her 29-year-old son, Guobin Qin, allegedly forged the signature of a doctor who had never treated them on their applications for the permits that allow motorists to use the blue parking spaces reserved for the disabled and to park at meters for free.
Gascón said 35-year-old Yessi Morales, who allegedly submitted seven applications over four years, also was arrested.
All three received fraudulently obtained placards from the DMV, according to Gascón. They were each charged with the felonies of filing false documents, perjury and commercial burglary.
"It's absurd that so many are willing to perjure themselves to steal parking spaces from the disabled," Gascón said. "Those fraudulently utilizing handicapped placards and parking spaces are on notice -- they can be held criminally liable."
DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez says the arrests are the first from an ongoing investigation that has identified at least 29 suspected cases of placard fraud since February.
Morales was arraigned July 3. Qin and Chen are scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday in Department 11 of the San Francisco Superior Court, according to the District Attorney's Office.