Man who has never been to New York gets 30 traffic tickets in the mail. He's not the only one
An Iowa resident’s mailbox turned into a nightmare when speeding tickets from over 1,000 miles away flooded his home.
Imagine opening your mailbox and finding an official envelope demanding money for traffic violations you never committed. For one Iowa resident, what began as a minor inconvenience quickly snowballed into a relentless nightmare as dozens of high-speed moving violations from over 1,000 miles away flooded his home address. KETV NewsWatch 7 (@KETV) covered the news on October 30, 2026, exposing the bizarre phenomenon.
Mailbox nightmare
The victim, Jason Spicoli, lives in Council Bluffs, Pottawatomie County, and claims he has never even set foot in New York City. Yet, since July, a staggering 30 traffic tickets from the Big Apple have arrived directly in his mailbox. Describing the ridiculous list of offenses he has been accused of, Spicoli recalled, "I was running red lights. I was going through school zones doing like 70 in a 30 in a school zone in New York." The endless headache began shortly after he sold his Jeep to a local dealership in Council Bluffs, marking the exact moment his information seemingly became entangled in a massive glitch.
One big ticketing mess
Frustrated and desperate for answers, Spicoli brought his growing stack of violations to Pottawattamie County Treasurer Lea Voss. Having tracked identical incidents across the region for the past few years, Voss confirmed Spicoli’s nightmare is part of a much broader pattern affecting other residents. "It just keeps going on and on," Voss admitted, holding up her ever-growing stack of copies. "I think Jason’s is the most I’ve had, 30 of them. I’ve never had anybody have 30. I’ve had them have four, three. Never 30." Voss verified that the victims could not have committed the crimes because the license plates had either been officially turned in or belonged to an entirely different vehicle model than the one flagged in New York. Most citations stemmed from automated speed zone and red-light cameras.
Ghost plates and unmatched number plates
This phenomenon ties into a growing nationwide surge in fraudulent and "ghost" license plates used to bypass toll booths and automated traffic cameras. According to an investigation published by the New York City Council, nearly 1 in 5 out-of-state vehicles surveyed in the city displayed plates that failed to match the vehicle carrying them. Moreover, 768 out of 3,500 were out-of-state plates. Furthermore, CBS New York revealed that unreadable or illegally obscured plates reject up to 40% of speed camera images, costing the city more than $100 million annually.
Still unresolved
Meanwhile, determined to protect her constituents, Voss previously reached out to the Governor of New York but received no response. While an employee with the New York City Finance Department eventually offered assistance, the underlying systemic issue remains unresolved. "I’ll do whatever I can, and I’ve tried to do everything I can," Voss stated, noting that some residents have even received collection notices. However, the NYC representative assured her that neither credit scores nor arrest warrants would be impacted. To prevent future mix-ups, Voss urges anyone facing similar notice spikes to immediately turn in retired license plates directly to her office.
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