2 men accused of stealing $1M from the Pa. Turnpike

[FakeNoose]

(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2023/01/13/pennsylvania-turnpike-fraud-e-zpass-tolls-million/stories/202301130083

Two men are charged with defrauding the Pennsylvania Turnpike of $1 million in tolls by buying and selling E-ZPass transponders, federal prosecutors said.

Duvany Zambrano, 43, of Hamilton, N.J., and Sergio Jara, 37, of Allentown, started buying thousands of transponders in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 2018, according to the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors said the men registered the devices with false personal information and false credit card information, then sold them to New Jersey truckers who traveled on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Mr. Zambrano and Mr. Jara are scheduled for trial March 4. They are facing up to 20 years in prison, as well as probation and fines.

- short article, no more at link -

Wow, who knew you could buy and resell the EZPass transponders? Why would anyone pay more than the legal price?

(scratches head)

[NBachers]

1. You don't mess around on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

[Effete Snob]

2. There's not any more information than that in the complaint

I assume they will file a superseding complaint of some kind, because the details on this thing are sort of breezy.

I don't know how you unload thousands of shady EZ pass transponders to truckers while expecting to fly under the radar, but I guess those details are going to come out later.

But, yeah, turnpike tolls.

How would you like to be the guy in your cell block who is doing 20 years for a scheme to evade turnpike tolls?

I'm impressed with the initiative, creativity and business acumen that some people seem to have been born with and which has always evaded me.

[FakeNoose]

5. I don't get it either - fake names and credit cards were used

That much is obvious. The drivers who bought the fake EZPass transponders apparently knew they were fake. It seems the Turnpike doesn't want us to know any more, because then we'd know how easy it is (or it could be) to cheat them.

[Effete Snob]

6. They are going to have to include a bit more detail than that

No, you can't indict and convict people of crimes without revealing how they did what they did.

Maybe they were sold to the drivers as "pre-paid" or some nonsense, but it seems a little odd to hatch a scheme where you are going to be involved in relatively small margin unit sales of thousands of items.

The complaint does mention specifically that the truckers were material haulers, so I'm thinking there is probably a trucking company involved at some point, because they weren't just peddling these in the truck stop parking lot to a bunch of gullible truckers.

If they had been doing that, they might as well have simply gone into a legitimate business for all the effort it would have required.

But, hey, it's not like they stole the road or anything. It's still there and everyone else can use it so, no harm, no foul, amirite?

[twodogsbarking]

3. There's probably a hundred more. Living in Pa.

[packman]

4. I lived in Pa for quite a while - small town below Pittsburgh

And the Turnpike was viewed as a continuous work-road full of pot-holes, constantly in need of repair and a cesspool of corruption.

[Effete Snob]

7. Yep

They should have built the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a flatter state with better weather.

[Number9Dream]

8. PA Turnpike has become so expensive, I won't use it anymore

I used to travel it between the Lehigh Valley and Lansdale, but it became way too expensive. I put up with Rte 309 now.

As the prices go up, even more drivers will find ways to cheat. The photographing of license plates for cash vehicles has also been a disaster.