Sandy and Terry McGee of Antioch say they were blindsided when the state grabbed their tax refund to cover more than $10,000 in toll fines from a Southern California express lane they insist they have never driven. The penalties, listed as 161 separate citations, were tied to trips on the 91 Express Lanes, an approximately 18-mile commuter corridor between Riverside and Orange counties, that the couple says they could not have possibly used.
According to ABC7, the McGees were counting on a $1,052 state tax refund, only to be told that the Franchise Tax Board had intercepted the money at the request of the Orange County Transportation Authority to cover outstanding tolls and fees. The notice said the charges were linked to a Cadillac registered to Terry McGee and spanned alleged trips over several years. The couple believes the mess traces back to a 2017 home burglary, when thieves made off with Terry’s driver’s license, Social Security card and other personal documents.
Sandy McGee told ABC7, “We thought it was over,” describing the shock of learning not only that their refund was gone, but that officials had flagged 161 violations in her husband’s name. The couple says they repeatedly sent in a police report, an FTC identity-theft report and a DMV letter confirming a counterfeit driver’s license, yet initially got nowhere with the toll agency. After a consumer unit pressed the case, the agency took another look, threw out all 161 citations and restored the McGees’ refund.
How Toll Enforcement Can Follow You Across California
The 91 Express Lanes system uses FasTrak transponders and license-plate images to log trips and issue violations. The 91 Express Lanes privacy policy states that violation notices are mailed to the address on file with the DMV and that unresolved toll debts can be handed off to collections or other government agencies, including the Franchise Tax Board. That chain of enforcement can ultimately result in a seized tax refund if the balance is not cleared. The same privacy policy and the facility’s violation ordinance detail how enforcement and information sharing are structured.
What Victims Should Do
If you suspect you are dealing with identity theft, you are advised to file an FTC Identity Theft Report at IdentityTheft.gov and obtain a local police report so you have the paperwork agencies routinely demand to wipe out fraudulent debts. The FTC site creates a personalized recovery plan and provides sample letters that can be used to dispute toll charges or intercepted refunds. Those documents should be sent in writing to both the toll operator and the Franchise Tax Board. It is also important to keep a detailed log of every call, email and letter, and to consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze while the disputes are underway.
Bay Area Takeaway
For the McGees, having the citations dismissed and their refund restored brought obvious relief, but the ordeal also showed how one burglary can mushroom into years of automated enforcement and collection efforts. Their case highlights the practical value of hanging on to police and FTC records when pushing back on cross-agency actions, and how pressure from consumer advocates can sometimes trigger a second look that changes the outcome.
