NY Woman Gets Toll Violations After Cop Uses Her License

A New York woman received a toll bill that was actually racked up by a New York State Police Trooper. Talk about mistaken identity. An elderly woman in New York got a huge shock when she received a toll bill. She really doesn't drive much nowadays, so you can imagine her shock. Barbara Lipsky has lived in Rochester for the majority of her life since the 1960s. Her husband worked with Monroe County. As a government worker, he received a license plate that read 1 M-20. The specialty plate was to distinguish him as a government worker.

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Lipsky's husband passed away five years ago, but she was given permission to use his old plate on her Kia Seltos SUV. The family has used the license plate for over 60 years. They never had any issue with the plate in the past 6 decades until January of 2025. Lipsky noticed a $25 toll charge on her credit card. The issue is that Lipsky doesn't really drive her car, nevertheless, into the city.

Unfortunately for Lipsky, the license plate also belongs to a New York State Trooper, who travels into Manhattan. E-ZPass charged her $144 in tolls 16 times in one month. Lipsky said,

"Not only have they got my money, but I’m supposed to take a trip to Michigan this summer. What am I going to do? It’s spooky, upsetting, and inconvenient. It’s all those things. And it’s starting to really cost me money. They’ve got about $150 of mine they shouldn’t have.”

NYSP has been in contact with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to correct the issue.