Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York arrested 11 defendants between May 19 and 20, 2026, on charges stemming from a multimillion-dollar scheme to evade tolls, traffic tickets, and parking fines using fraudulently obtained temporary license plates [1]. A five-count indictment, filed May 13, 2026, charges the defendants with wire fraud and access device fraud [1]. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. announced the case publicly on May 20 [1].
Investigators traced approximately $15 million in unpaid violations to the operation [1]. The fraudulent temporary tags were linked to roughly 1,200 distinct incidents, including at least six homicides, illustrating how fabricated vehicle registration credentials can shield participants in violent crimes from identification and enforcement [1]. Lead defendant Felix DeJesus Jimenez is among those named in the indictment [1]. The charges rely on two primary federal statutes: wire fraud, which carries a maximum 20-year prison term per count, and access device fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1029, which covers the fraudulent use of account numbers, codes, and similar instruments to obtain money or other items of value.
The case was filed in the White Plains division of the Southern District of New York and investigated by FBI New York [1]. Temporary license plates, issued by dealers or state motor vehicle agencies pending permanent registration, have emerged as a documented vector for toll evasion on bridge, tunnel, and highway systems in the New York metropolitan area, where automated license-plate readers form the backbone of toll collection and traffic enforcement. The indictment signals coordinated federal attention to what authorities characterize as an organized fraud network rather than isolated opportunistic violations.
With arrests completed and defendants in custody or summoned to appear, the case moves to arraignment and the pretrial phase. Given the five-count indictment and the scope of alleged losses, prosecutors have a substantial evidentiary record, including the volume of linked incidents, to support detention arguments or pressure plea negotiations. Defense counsel will likely contest the breadth of the access-device-fraud theory as applied to temporary registration documents, an issue that could generate early motion practice on statutory scope. No trial date has been set [1].