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Officer Sarah Orsita spotted the fraudulent temporary registration attached to the rear of the vehicle and immediately knew it was phony, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said.
She stopped the 31-year-old driver from Paterson, who told her she bought the vehicle a few months ago and the bogus tag for $200 from “a man she met on the street in Paterson,” the chief said.
The driver was listed on the title and she had the vehicle properly insured, Ackermann said.
The woman explained to Orsita that she’d been unable to get an appointment at motor vehicles until June 24, the earliest.
With the original registration about the expire, she contacted a black market seller who advertised openly on Facebook, she said.
She said she hadn’t realized that the tag was bogus, the chief added.
Glen Rock police ended up arresting a man as he sold fake tags in the parking lot of the local CVS. He’d been advertising on Facebook, Ackermann said.
SEE: NJ Man Advertises Fake Vehicle Registrations On Facebook, Sells Them In CVS Lot: Police
The woman, meanwhile, received a summons for operating a vehicle with a fictitious registration, the chief said. Arrangements were made the have the vehicle towed until it could be properly registered, he said.
Ackermann, meanwhile, urged citizens to use common sense and not risk the trouble.
The sale of phony temp plates has increased rapidly, he noted.
"Drivers use fake and fraudulent temp tags for a variety of reasons," the chief said, "including to drive without car insurance, to avoid sales tax on car purchases and bills for tolls and tickets, and to commit more serious crimes in cars with license plates that aren’t connected to their name and address.
"Fake and fraudulent temp tags have been used during robberies, shootings, and hit-and-runs," Ackermann emphasized.
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