An Uber driver accused of raping a passenger in Dallas last week allegedly used a fake permit to outwit the company’s screening process, and would never have gotten the job if the company had checked a city database first.

Uber said it does criminal background checks on all of its drivers.

Meanwhile, court records show that the driver, 56-year-old Talal Ali Chammout of Plano, in recent years served time in federal prison for being a felon in possession of dozens of guns. Dallas requires drivers pass another background check for a permit.

Chammout however was able to get by by getting a permit with a number that had since expired in 2010 and had belonged to a different driver.

Uber offered no explanation Monday and said they are still investigating the incident.

However, Chammout’s felony criminal past was not caught by Uber when he signed up to be a driver. “Uber did”, said Dave Sutton, spokesperson for watchdog group ‘Who’s Driving You?’ at the time of that incident.

And Uber spokesperson called it a “terrible situation” and said the company is “conducting a thorough internal review and working with local officials to gather and sort through all the facts”. Chammout is in Dallas County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Syed said Uber should have verified that permit with the city’s online database.

Other drivers working for Uber in cities such as Philadelphia and Boston have been accused of rape by customers. On July 25, he was behind the wheel of an Uber auto in Dallas when he shouldn’t have been.