Mayor: Serious allegations of potential wrongdoing at Jamestown DMV

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Mayor of the City of Jamestown is issuing a statement in response to Call 4 Action’s investigation into how drivers in Chautauqua County, mostly in the Jamestown area have legally surrendered their license plates and then have become victims of license plate fraud.

In a statement, Mayor Kimberly Ecklund says:

“The City of Jamestown is aware of serious allegations involving the potential misuse of license plates that were properly surrendered at the Jamestown DMV. These reports raise significant concerns for affected residents, and while DMV operations are administered by Chautauqua County under the authority of New York State, our office is here to assist residents in connecting with the appropriate agencies for guidance and resolution.”

The Mayor’s Office goes on to say that residents who believe they may have been impacted are encouraged to:

• Contact the Chautauqua County Clerk’s Office and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for direction on next steps
• File a report with the Jamestown Police Department to ensure proper documentation
• Submit a formal complaint to the New York State Inspector General’s Office, which investigates allegations of misconduct, fraud, or mismanagement within state agencies

“Although this matter falls outside the City’s direct authority, we take these allegations seriously and will continue to assist residents by connecting them with the appropriate resources and ensuring their concerns are communicated to the proper authorities,” Mayor Ecklund said.

You can also submit a Call 4 Action complaint so that News 4 can take a look into your situation.

Multiple drivers have gone to the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Jamestown at 512 West 3rd Street to surrender their license plates for various reasons, only to be hit with hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in tolls and fees. This has happened several times.

“I want them to get to the bottom of it and not let it happen again,” said Debbie Bonovitch of Jamestown.

She wants answers after her license plate fraud situation that spanned nearly a year. She surrendered her old license plates on June 5, 2023 to the Jamestown DMV. This marks the third complaint Call 4 Action has received of drivers going to the Jamestown DMV and their old license plate number ending up on other cars.

“I purchased a new van in Pennsylvania and they were going to license everything, so I had to destroy my old van license plate and I went to the Jamestown DMV,” Bonovitch said.

Then in March of last year, Debbie became bombarded by toll violations in the States of Delaware and Pennsylvania. Somehow her old license plate number ended up on a Nissan Altima, cruising highways in both states with Debbie getting stuck with the toll bills, from places she hasn’t been to and a car she says isn’t hers.

In Delaware, toll bills sent in the mail can be very expensive. One $3 toll ended up being $53 because of additional fees. Another toll for only 50 cents ended up being $88 because fees and civil penalties were tacked on. In total, Debbie was hit with nearly $6,000 — $5,853 to be exact — in fraudulent charges. This includes a collection notice for $810 and a speeding ticket tied to her old plate number.

“When I talked to the State Police he said that it’s possible that people got the number and made up a plate because they can do that now and there’s all kinds of people that are in this situation,” Bonovitch said.

It’s a recurring issue that often times leads to notices from debt collectors and legal action potentially taken against you.

“To make phone calls and try to get to the bottom of it, you’re on hold for a while and then, trying to get through to get to a person to talk to and then, that person says they’re going to take care of it and then, you get more bills and you call again, it’s just over and over again, it’s aggravating,” Bonovitch said.

“People really need a lot of help navigating through the bureaucracy that is part of these systems whether that’s working with law enforcement or whether that’s trying to deal with a state agency or the state agency’s contractor, it’s a lot to know exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to send it,” said Eddie Sundquist, Bonovitch’s attorney.

News 4 contacted Delaware’s Department of Transportation, which says the agency reviewed Debbie’s situation and found that the plate appearing in the tickets was fraudulent leading to all tolls being voided. A spokesperson from the Pennsylvania Turnpike says: “Due to customer privacy laws, we cannot discuss specifics,” on individual cases but the PA Turnpike does say that tolls to Debbie have also stopped.

“Something needs to be done to where the plate number isn’t used anymore,” Bonovitch said.

For Debbie, those toll bills stopped in January and so far, she hasn’t gotten any more additional toll bills. The Chautauqua County Clerk’s Office and Sheriff’s Office have both told News 4 repeatedly that their procedures in handling surrendered plates are being followed. A spokesperson for the State Department of Motor Vehicles says the DMV is “actively investigating” concerns over license plate fraud in Jamestown and Chautauqua County.