A Brooklyn man who turned an Instagram side hustle into a fake license plate pipeline has pleaded guilty but will avoid prison time under a deal with state prosecutors. Tyheem Evans, who advertised under the handle @DMVTemps, accepted a three-year conditional discharge and must complete 100 hours of community service. Safety officials warn that forged temporary tags turn regular cars into “ghost vehicles” that can slip past cameras and make crashes and crimes harder to trace.
According to a press release by the Office of the New York State Attorney General, Evans, 28, sold more than 50 forged temporary plates between April 2022 and September 2023, charging up to $210 per plate and advertising via an Instagram account he controlled. The AG’s office says he pleaded guilty in Kings County Criminal Court to one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a class D felony, and was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge and 100 hours of community service. The investigation was led by the AG’s office with assistance from the New York City Department of Investigation and the New York State DMV.
“Tyheem Evans defrauded drivers and the DMV with a petty scheme to line his own pockets while making our roads less safe,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement from the Office of the New York State Attorney General. DOI Commissioner Nadia I. Shihata and DMV officials likewise warned that forged temporary tags create “ghost cars” that can hide crimes and complicate crash investigations. The AG’s office noted that Evans will avoid jail as long as he follows the terms of his conditional discharge.
How the Scheme Worked
Prosecutors say Evans took orders through Instagram direct messages, collected buyers’ vehicle details including VIN numbers, told customers to send money via Zelle, and then emailed forged temporary plates as PDF attachments. Those fake paper tags cannot be read reliably by automated enforcement cameras and can leave victims and investigators without an easy lead. Local reporting that followed the AG announcement laid out the same mechanics in detail.
Part of a Larger Black Market
Evans’ operation involved only a few dozen sales, but investigators and reporters say it taps into a much larger underground trade. A 2023 Streetsblog investigation found that more than 100 dealers printed over 200,000 fake temporary tags between 2019 and 2023, a business that often ties back to out-of-state used-car operations and warehouses. That reporting has helped spur legislative and enforcement responses in multiple states as officials try to cut off the supply chain.
Officials Step Up Enforcement
The guilty plea and sentencing land as state officials launch a weeklong enforcement push called Operation Plate Check, with New York State Police adding extra patrols and partnering with local agencies to detect fraudulent plates. Governor Kathy Hochul’s office said the effort responds to “an increase in the use of fictitious license plates and fraudulent temporary paper tags” and urged motorists to stick to legal registration channels. The enforcement detail runs through early next week and is designed to pair patrols with DMV and local policing partners.
Local outlets covering the case noted the Instagram account tied to the scheme is now disabled, but investigators say similar dealers still advertise on social platforms and in private DMs. Law enforcement officials caution that both sellers and buyers risk criminal exposure, and they encourage anyone who spots suspected illegal tag sales to contact local police or the DMV’s fraud unit. Evans’ case underscores why prosecutors and traffic-safety advocates argue the black market for fake tags is a public-safety issue, not just a paperwork problem.
