A Dallas driver said he received speed camera notice violations from Philadelphia for a car he doesn’t own. Read on about his efforts to get the tickets dismissed. ‘YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE VIOLATIONS’ At home in Dallas, Ronald Clements shows us two speed camera violations mailed t o him from Philadelphia. A place he said he hasn’t visited in decades. “Like over 40 years ago, the last time I was in Philly,” Clements told NBC 5. Both violations included a license plate number that wasn’t his and a photo of a dark Mercedes. “I certainly don’t drive a Mercedes. These are my two vehicles here,” Clements said, pointing to the cars in front of his home. Clements said he ordered a Texas Department of Motor Vehicles record. The record said the Texas plate number, shown in the speed camera violations, was cancelled in 2022. Clements said he contacted the Philadelphia Parking Authority and shared the Texas DMV record. “They told me, well, regardless of what Texas DMV is telling you, this is still coming up under your name, so you are responsible for these violations,” Clements said. In an email to NBC 5 Responds, Texas DMV confirmed the plate number was never assigned to Clements and has not been active since 2022. Texas DMV said the plate number was previously assigned to Clements’ white Buick, before Clements owned it. A new plate was issued to Clements when he bought the used Buick. In Philadelphia, our NBC 10 Responds colleagues contacted the PPA. It asked our team to share documentation showing Texas canceled the plate. Nine days later, Clements received notice that the PPA withdrew both violations. The letters cited an “administrative decision.” The PPA told our Philadelphia colleagues that its search of Texas records tied the plate number to Clements. Texas DMV said its records show the plate number was canceled four years ago. SAME PLATE, DIFFERENT CARS We don’t know who was driving the car pictured in the speed cam tickets Clements received. We also don’t know how the plate number ended up on the vehicle. An NBC 10 Philadelphia police source told our team the plate number in the citation has appeared on 10 different cars. When we reviewed the daytime violation photo, we couldn’t see a star in the upper left corner of the license plate. General issue plates in Texas, like this example, have a star. We asked Sergeant Joe Escribano with the Travis County Constable’s Office Precinct about this. He investigates license plate fraud. He’s not involved in Clements’ question. “We, in the past here, have seen there has been somewhat of an influx, and people still use those plates, and they’ll go ahead and get the false ones,” said Escribano. Escribano said this may be an example of license plate cloning, someone using an actual plate number to order a replica online. “They just pick that number, or they found it, and they just put it in there,” said Escribano. NBC 5 Responds has told you about license plate cloning before. When we looked, we could see dozens of websites offering custom or novelty metal plates with whatever letters and numbers a buyer picks. WHAT CONSUMERS CAN DO If you receive a ticket in the mail for a vehicle that isn’t yours, don’t ignore the notice. Texas DMV said consumers can request a certified title and registration verification and a non-ownership letter. Escribano recommends reporting the issue to law enforcement where you live and where the violation happened. Send the documentation you gathered to the agency that issued the ticket. “What I would do is I’d make sure that I contact the right person over there,” Escribano said. “Do you have officers that are doing this and then report?” “Try to talk to somebody that will help you out. It’s going to be a pain because there’s really nothing you can do other than fight them on that end,” Escribano added. That’s what Clements did. Still, he said he’s left wondering whether this problem could land in his mailbox again. ...read more read less