30 People Charged In Fake Parking Pass Scam, Prosecutors Say

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — Prosecutors indicted 30 people on Tuesday for allegedly using fake parking passes to park illegally and to dispute parking tickets.

The people charged on Tuesday had been using forged passes to get around city parking restrictions, mostly in Downtown Manhattan, Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.

"New York City is one of the most expensive and challenging places in the world to park a car," Vance said in a statement. "It came as no surprise to my Office and our law enforcement partners that alleged scammers have taken advantage of this industry in an effort to park for free and avoid paying tickets."

A joint investigation between prosecutors and the city Department of Investigation identified 30 people who had been skirting city parking rules, authorities said.

The fake parking passes not only allowed drivers to skirt city regulations, but also posed a hazard, according to the DOI commissioner Mark Peters.

"As our investigation shows, luxury vehicles with fake placards were restricting access to parking for the disabled, creating potentially dangerous situations and breaking the law," Peters said.

Authorities said the people had been used the forged placards predominantly between March and September.

Image credit: Spencer Platt / Staff / Getty Images News