BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A man from New York City has admitted to forging more than 50 temporary license plates while defrauding more than 50 customers, according to the New York Attorney General’s Office.
Tyheem Evans, 28 and of Brooklyn, would use an Instagram page with the handle “@DMVTemps” to advertise and sell 30-day, 60-day and 90-day temporary license plates. Evans charged upwards of $200 forged plates for states including California, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas and Virginia, among other states.
The scheme lasted more than a year, from April 2022 to September 2023. All in all, at least 52 people across several states were defrauded.
The plates would create “ghost cars,” which are able to evade tolls and tickets as well as make a driver untraceable in the event of a crash or crime. Evans collected information on the cars including make, model, year, color and identification number. After he got the information, he directed the customers to send the money using Zelle and would then email the temporary plates as PDFs.
Evans pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. He was sentenced to three years of conditional discharge and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.
Several drivers across Western New York have reported being charged for thousands of dollars in tolls in New York City and New Jersey for plate numbers that they surrendered to the DMV, which has resulted in legislation being introduced in the New York State Legislature to crack down on the issue. It is unclear if any of the victims in this case are located in Western New York.
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