Driver using remote-controlled license plate cover charged with felony fraud

SANFORD, Fla. (FOX 13) - Florida Highway Patrol troopers pulled a man over in Seminole County for having an illegal, James Bond-style hideaway license plate frame.

Video from the trooper’s dash camera shows the device in action. Drivers apparently use them to avoid paying toll fees. One press of a button and a black cover comes down to conceal the tag.

Bay Area FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said these kinds of devices are nothing new.

“Any of that kind of technology, whether it’s an automated flip-up screen, a rotating tag bracket, that’s illegal, can’t do it,” Sgt. Gaskins said.

But that doesn’t stop people from trying.

“We typically see the same ones going through when, once we get that info, we'll stage up there and look for the violators coming,“ Gaskins said.

That means offenders will probably end up paying more in fines and fees than the toll would have cost in the first place.

”It is no different from you going to the store and picking something off the shelf and not paying for it,” Gaskins pointed out.

In this case, the driver, 22-year-old John Guevarra, faces a felony charge for fraud and a misdemeanor for petit theft.