ATLANTA - Jules Armand Che Siewe Achou, 33, of Atlanta, and Gbemisola Wellington-Salako, 36, of Marietta, were sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Orinda D. Evans for conspiring to issue Georgia driver's licenses to people who did not qualify for them, but who were willing to pay up to $2,500 per license.

According to U.S. Attorney Sally Yates and information presented in court, Wellington-Salako was a driver's license examiner in the Department of Driver Services center on County Services Parkway in Marietta and began working with Siewe Achou in June 2007 to provide driver's licenses to unqualified people who paid the pair up to $2,500. Siewe Achou would find customers and send them to Wellington-Salako, who would issue them licenses without any tests or proof of legal residency in Georgia. Between June 2007 and September 2009, when Wellington-Salako was arrested, the two conspired to issue up to 40 driver's licenses.

Both defendants pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiring to produce and distribute false identification documents.

Wellington-Salako was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Siewe Achou was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison, to be followed by thee years of supervised release. A citizen of Cameroon, Siewe Achou will face deportation proceedings after he serves his sentence.

Brock Nicholson, acting special agent in charge of the ICE Homeland Security Investigations office in Atlanta, said in a statement: "People like Wellington-Salako, who are willing to violate the public's trust for money, could potentially be impacting the national security of our country by giving legitimate documents to those who aren't entitled to them. These acts will not go unpunished."

Three other individuals, Nambaladja Souleymane Fofana, 29, of Atlanta, Mohamed Cellou Bamba, 34, of Atlanta, and Omar Sheriff Manjang, 45, of Lawrenceville, were also charged in the conspiracy. They each pleaded guilty to assisting Siewe Achou in finding customers for the conspiracy. Fofana and Bamba were sentenced to prison for eight months, with deportation proceedings to follow. Manjang was sentenced to one year of probation.