The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed a five-count indictment on May 20, 2026, charging 11 defendants in a scheme to evade tolls, parking violations, and traffic tickets using fraudulently obtained temporary license plates [1]. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton announced the arrests alongside James C. Barnacle Jr. of the FBI New York Field Office [1]. The lead defendant is identified as Felix DeJesus Jimenez [1].
Prosecutors allege the defendants obtained fraudulent temporary tags through dealerships and deployed them to avoid payment obligations across New York [1]. Investigators identified approximately $15 million in unpaid parking violations, tolls, and vehicle registrations attributable to the scheme [1]. The indictment charges wire fraud and access device fraud, the latter under 18 U.S.C. § 1029, which governs unauthorized use of account numbers and access devices, including vehicle identification instruments used to trigger electronic toll systems [1]. Beyond the financial losses, investigators found that temporary tags issued through the dealerships at the center of the scheme were linked to at least six homicides, a finding that substantially elevates the public-safety dimension of the prosecution [1].
The indictment was returned in the Southern District of New York, which has venue over conduct occurring in Manhattan, the Bronx, and surrounding counties, all of which sit within the dense toll corridor connecting New York City to the broader metropolitan region [1]. The FBI New York Field Office led the investigation [1]. All 11 defendants were arrested in connection with the unsealing, though detention and bail dispositions were not detailed in the public record as of the announcement date [1].
The next procedural steps will include arraignment and initial appearances before a federal magistrate judge in White Plains or Manhattan. Defendants facing wire fraud charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 face maximum sentences of 20 years per count; access device fraud carries up to 10 years per count under § 1029. Given the homicide-linked plates and the scale of financial loss alleged, prosecutors are positioned to argue for pretrial detention on danger-to-the-community and flight-risk grounds. The case signals continued federal attention to toll-evasion schemes that generate fraudulent vehicle identification instruments and conceal the movement of vehicles involved in violent crime.