AUSTIN (KXAN) — A state vehicle inspector was arrested in Austin, accused of falsifying safety and emissions tests since 2018 for profit — upwards of $300 a piece — while allowing hundreds of unsafe vehicles on the road, according to law enforcement.

The arrest comes weeks after a Hays County vehicle inspector was arrested, accused of illegally selling vehicle inspection reports, and after the Texas Department of Public Safety announced a crackdown on fraudulent vehicle inspections, dubbed “Operation Cinderblock.”

Maritza Rivera-Tirado, 29, was arrested after law enforcement detected “inspection data irregularities” and set up an undercover sting operation, according to court records. She worked at Rivera Welding on East Seventh Street in Austin. A sign in front advertises the business as an official vehicle inspection station.

She is charged with tampering with a government document and was released on a $5,000 bond on June 22.

She was previously arrested for “fraudulent emissions inspection,” according to the affidavit.

‘A lot of money’

“She enters the information as the vehicle was properly inspected,” said Sgt. Jose Escribano with the Travis County Constable’s Office Pct. 3. “And it was not.”

Escribano said he watched Rivera-Tirado pass multiple vehicles without even checking the brakes. His agency, which investigated the case, accuses her of allowing hundreds of potentially unsafe or salvaged vehicles on the road since 2018 in order to personally profit.

“They make a lot of money,” said Escribano.

KXAN tried for two days to get a comment from the business. On Monday, a man who answered the phone and identified himself as a manager named Victor said to call back in 30 minutes. Repeated phone calls were not answered. On Tuesday, a woman who answered the phone but declined to give her name said “no comment on that” when asked about the arrest before hanging up. An email sent to Rivera-Tirado was not immediately answered.

Law enforcement accuses her of passing potentially dangerous vehicles that would otherwise fail inspection, according to an arrest warrant and investigators, including Escribano, who said they recorded it on undercover surveillance video.

In several cases, Rivera-Tirado entered into a database that a vehicle’s brake system cleared inspection despite the fact that law enforcement said it “had never been performed,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Law enforcement was ordered to seize the analyzer system, inspection certificates and reports, and any receipts or ledgers related to the businesses’ inspections.

‘Clean scanning’

This type of crime — known as “clean scanning” — is a growing underground problem that is spreading statewide the same way Texas’ paper license plate problem did: through online ads or word-of-mouth, Escribano said.

“They’re rolling down the highway,” he said. “And you have absolutely no clue.”

He worries some unscrupulous used car dealers could pay for fraudulent inspections in order to sell vehicles they shouldn’t and that unsafe vehicles could lead to roadway deaths.

He said his analysts found five million vehicles passed emissions inspections last year fraudulently — with not enough resources for law enforcement, including DPS, to make a dent.

“They’re playing Whac-A-Mole,” he said.

Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that will end vehicle safety inspections in 2025. Seventeen counties, including Travis, will still require annual emissions tests.