Toll Fraud Charges in Fort Lee NJPort Authority police officers in Fort Lee New Jersey busted a truck driver accused of committing fraud in order to avoid paying tolls on NJ highways.

The suspect was placed under arrest during the early morning hours in Fort Lee, NJ. Port Authority cops stopped the suspect’s truck, a blue 2006 Kenworth tractor trailer, as he moved through a toll on the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee NJ.

Patrol officers initiated the traffic stop because they allegedly saw the suspect’s truck drive through an “EZ Pass only” lane without a required EZ pass transponder. Moreover, Port Authority NJ police said that there was no license plate mounted on the front of the suspect’s truck.

Port Authority NJ police officers talked to the driver, who provided them with a license plate that appeared to be illegitimate. The cops eventually determined that the license plate was a fabricated version of a Maine license plate that was suspended earlier this year.

Port Authority police eventually deduced that the suspect, a trucker from South Carolina, was using the fake license plate in a scheme to avoid paying tolls on roads in New Jersey.

The suspect, a 34-year-old man from Sumter, South Carolina, was arrested and charged with theft of services. He was also cited for several traffic violations, including toll evasion.

At this time, authorities are still trying to determine exactly how much money the suspect may have taken by failing to pay tolls on NJ roads.

After being placed under arrest and processed, the suspect secured his release from police custody on his own recognizance. The suspect will need to come back to Fort Lee NJ later this month for a mandatory court appearance.

For additional information about this case, read the NJ.com article, “Trucker Arrested in Alleged Toll-Dodging Scheme, Cops Say.”