ETHICS AND FRAUD

Class-action suit brewing over red-light cameras

Jan 9, 2012 | SCPR.org | Article
Excerpts:
The city of Victorville faces a potential $9 million class action lawsuit unless it changes the way it uses red-light cameras. The people who want to sue also targeted the company that installed the camera system.

Redflex sues Farragut over new traffic camera law

Sep 29, 2011 | KnoxNews.com | Article
Excerpts:
Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. on Monday filed suit against the town of Farragut and claims that without court intervention, hundreds of traffic violations will continue to go unprosecuted, which will affect traffic safety and deprive Farragut and the company of revenue that was agreed on in a contract between the two.

Ethics Complaint Filed Against Red-Light Camera Contractor [Redflex]

Sep 29, 2011 | KOAT.com | Article
Excerpts:
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- One City Council member said an election group in support of Albuquerque’s red-light cameras is blatantly violating the law.
City Council Member Dan Lewis filed a formal complaint with the city clerk’s office. Lewis said it’s high time the public knows who is behind the campaign to keep the cameras turned on.
Lewis said RedFlex, the operator of Albuquerque’s red-light cameras, donated $90,000 to Safe Roads ABQ – a measure finance committee aimed at keeping the cameras on.

Computer glitch causes red-light camera fine error

Sep 23, 2011 | Sioux City Journal | Article
Excerpts:
SIOUX CITY - Jim Thomas was certain that he paid his $195 fine for running a red light in October 2010 at one of the city's eight intersections monitored by Redflex cameras.

Capt. Melvin Williams said Thursday that 74 people, whose violations were transferred to the court system, received the notices due to a computer glitch.

Class-action suit against Jefferson Parish redlight cameras sends notices to those who paid fines

Sep 9, 2011 | NOLA.com | Article
Excerpts:
Drivers who ran afoul of Jefferson Parish's red-light camera system are receiving some news in the mail this week: a notice that the class-action lawsuit seeking to recoup the fines they paid is moving forward.

The notices were sent to about 145,000 people in the two-year-old suit against Redflex Traffic Systems, the Phoenix, Ariz., company that owns the cameras.

California: Traffic Camera Firm Shakes Down City

Aug 31, 2011 | TheNewspaper.com | Article
Excerpts:

As municipalities around the country increasingly have second thoughts about continuing red light camera programs, the private companies in charge of the photo ticketing are turning up the heat. Redflex Traffic Systems announced to its Australian shareholders last week that it continues to adjust contract language, boosting the penalties for cities that turn their back on photo ticketing. Just such language has hit in San Bernardino, California where rival photo ticketing firm American Traffic Solutions (ATS) is threatening to impose an extra $1,896,202 fee to punish the city council for attempting to get out of the contract in March. Officials had already approved cutting a check for $175,000 to the company as compensation.

Desperate Photo Enforcement Firms Sue Cities

Aug 6, 2011 | TheNewspaper.com | Article
Excerpts:

Companies that operate red light cameras and speed cameras are facing increasing opposition across the country. In response, the firms have adopted a strategy of suing cities that have second thoughts about continuing to use cameras in their community. They have also been going after their own customers to collect as much revenue as possible.

On December 1, Redflex filed suit against Tempe, Arizona in Maricopa county Superior Court claiming the city owed $1.3 million in per-ticket fees for each driver mailed a photo ticket who decided to go to traffic school. The city claims it only collected $1.8 million in revenue from the program, mostly because last year's payment rate was just 31 percent. Drivers realize in increasing numbers that tickets in the state can be ignored unless they are properly served.

Tennessee: Man Sues [Redflex] Over Double Billing

Jul 19, 2011 | TheNewspaper.com | Article
Excerpts:

On November 16, 2009, Church received a notice in the mail from Redflex claiming his car had run a red light in the town of Jonesborough. On the same day, Church mailed payment of the $88.75 fine. Redflex which cashed the check. On March 13, 2010, Redflex sent a second notice insisting that Church pay again or be reported to a collection agency. Church states he faced "coarse and abrupt opposition and accusation" when he called the company to resolve the situation. The next day, a Redflex employee told Church he was to be reported to a credit bureau for non-payment.

500 People Given Red Light Tickets Instead of Speed Camera Tickets

Jun 1, 2011 | KCAUTV.COM | Article
Excerpts:

The speed camera caught them driving too fast on the interstate, but due to a clerical error they were sent a red light camera ticket instead of a speeding ticket.

Judge rules Napa red-light cameras are illegal

Jun 1, 2011 | Napa Valley Register | Article
Excerpts:

Napa's red-light camera program, which has drawn the ire of thousands of motorists and the Napa County grand jury alike, is illegal, a Napa County Superior Court judge ruled Friday.

Diane Price, presiding judge of the Napa County Superior Court's Appellate Division, ruled that the 2008 contract between the city and Arizona-based Redflex violated state vehicular law.

Company's delay in posting red-light cameras irks city

May. 11, 2011 | Columbus Dispatch | Article
Excerpts:

More than a year after city officials signed a contract to double the number of red-light cameras watching over Columbus intersections, the devices have yet to be installed.

Safety officials say they're frustrated with the time it is taking Redflex Traffic Systems to select the remaining new camera locations from a list of 38 suggested by the city last summer.

Limbo continues for Jefferson Parish stop-light cameras

May. 2, 2011 | NOLA.com | Article
Excerpts:

As dozens of cameras atop white poles continue to stand dormant at intersections throughout Jefferson Parish, the court disputes about their legitimacy to ticket drivers running stop lights are quietly moving forward.

Two groups of drivers, whose cars were caught by the cameras, have filed dueling lawsuits against Jefferson Parish and the cameras' owner, Redflex Traffic Systems of Phoenix, Ariz., questioning the program's constitutionality. Meanwhile, Redflex is suing the parish for breach of contract after the Parish Council suspended the program more than a year ago and placed more than $20 million collected from fines in a escrow.

Photo Enforcement Companies Accuse One Another of Deception

Mar. 22, 2011 | TheNewspaper.com | Article
Excerpts:

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday decided that photo enforcement vendors American Traffic Solutions (ATS) and Redflex were too much at odds with one another to participate in a court mediation program designed to settle tough cases. Each firm has filed suit questioning the integrity and ethics of the other. Redflex refers to "ATS' pattern and practice of consistent false representations." ATS, in turn, claims Redflex has been making "false and misleading statements of fact concerning its photographic traffic enforcement products and services."

Desperate Redflex Sues City of Tempe

Dec. 19, 2010 | CameraFraud.com | Article
Dec. 20, 2010 | AZFamily.com | Article
Excerpts (CameraFraud.com):

Redflex has filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against the City of Tempe seeking damages in excess of $1.3 million dollars. Their claim is that Tempe is profiting off all the defensive driving courses being sold to motorists in lieu of paying Redflex the fines.

Lawsuit targets [Redflex] red-light camera contracts

Dec. 4, 2010 | San Francisco Examiner | Article
Excerpts:

The residents of Daly City and Palo Alto have filed class-action lawsuits accusing red-light camera vendors of signing illegal contracts with several Peninsula cities and calling for the companies to reimburse those who were fined.

Redflex Failures Aplenty

Nov. 27, 2010 | CameraFraud.com | Article
Excerpts:

Lousiana – Redflex had been under investigation in Jefferson Parish by the FBI for more than a year over an alleged arrangement that put cash in the pocket of a Judge's wife and a lobbyist every time their scameras popped a motorist with an extortion ticket. Now another city, Zachary, LA, just north of Baton Rouge wants out of their contract with the Australian operation...

New Mexico - While accident rates are dropping nationwide, cities using Redflex surveillance ticketing are seeing an increase in collisions where it has been deployed. New Mexico Dept of Transportation studies have shown this to be true...

California: Class Action Lawsuit Hits Federal Court

Nov. 8, 2010 | TheNewspaper.com | Article
Excerpt:

The suit seeks a refund of every single ticket issued at those sixteen intersections between May 2003 and November 25, 2009. Last November, after losing on the warning issue in Orange County Superior Court court, the city finally decided to hold the required warning periods at every intersection. The class action suit names as defendants Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Waters, City Attorney Joseph W. Fletcher and Redflex Traffic Systems, the Australian company in charge of the ticketing program.

California: Class Action Lawsuit Hits Federal Court

Oct. 25, 2010 | TheNewspaper.com | Article
Excerpt:

A class action lawsuit against fifty-nine red light camera programs in the state of California will be heard before Judge William H. Alsup in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Attorney Bruce L. Simon, who is suing Redflex Traffic Systems and American Traffic Solutions (ATS), moved Friday that the case return to the state court system. Simon argues that the contracts of Redflex and ATS with municipalities are illegal under California law.

Speed camera operator Redflex to settle with State Government

Oct. 19, 2010 | Herald Sun | Article
Excerpt:

REDFLEX has agreed to pay the State Government a six-figure sum as penalty for problems with the Hume Freeway speed cameras.

"The Department of Justice is in ongoing negotiations with Redflex over compensation for the fault in the point-to-point camera system on the Hume Highway," a department spokesman said.

Redflex Executive Salary Exceeds Shareholder Profit

Oct. 19, 2010 | TheNewspaper.com | Article
Excerpt:

Morale at Redflex Traffic Systems, the Australian photo enforcement company with more contracts in the United States than any other firm, has never been lower. Yesterday, the company faced the real possibility that the state government in Victoria, Australia would sue for the recovery of $15 million in citations issued by a faulty Redflex freeway speed camera system. Although the government currently refuses to issue refunds, it issued equally stern denials before giving in to public pressure by refunding $26 million worth of tickets over a high-profile accuracy failure in 2003.

The latest bad news comes as employees in the US office fear layoffs in the wake of the cancellation of the multimillion-dollar Arizona freeway photo radar program. Some workers at the company have privately expressed anger that, despite firm's precarious financial state, the head of US operations will receive a substantial raise. Shareholders are no more likely to be pleased to learn at the November 19 annual meeting that Karen Finley will be paid US$498,108 in a year when net profit for shareholders dropped 92.6 percent to a total of just $437,300.

Cops admit [Redflex] cameras flawed

Oct. 18, 2010 | Herald Sun | Article
Excerpt:

A TECHNICAL glitch has forced police to switch off all point-to-point speed cameras along the Hume Highway.

The embarrassing bungle has seen Victoria Police take unlawful action against drivers on at least nine occasions.

Tempe Man Files Massive Scamera Lawsuit – Redflex Named

Oct. 11, 2010 | CameraFraud.com | Article
Excerpt:

CameraFRAUD has been sent a copy of a RICO suit that names a large contingency in the scamera criminal enterprise in Arizona as defendants.

There are many more listed on the official document here. The plaintiff, Mr. Daniel Gutenkauf has filed the suit under the grounds that all named parties are acting as a criminal syndicate, committing extortion and fraud in order to profit from scamera tickets.

Red light cameras under fire in lawsuit against city

Oct. 1, 2010 | The Potpourri Tomball | Article
Excerpt:

A lawsuit filed in March 2009 against the city of Tomball regarding its use of red light cameras is still in the appeal stages over whether or not the city can even be sued.

The suit against the city claims all red light camera fees issued by the city are void or illegal, and asks a judge to order the city to refund fees to all violators. The suit is also against Redflex Traffic Systems.

South Dakota man wants suit against red-light camera operator Redflex

Sep. 21, 2010 | Sioux City Journal | Article
Excerpt:

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A Sioux Falls businessman wants the city and Redflex Traffic Systems to pay back the money collected through their red-light traffic cameras.

The cameras were shut down in June after Caldwell ruled that the city violates state law when it issues civil penalties for the criminal act of red light running.

California: Another Judge Discards Red Light Camera Evidence
*Not specifically a Redflex case
Aug. 19, 2010 | TheNewspaper.com | Article
Excerpt:

A San Diego, California Superior Court judge on Monday found elements of typical red light camera court evidence packages to be inadmissible hearsay. Eight consolidated cases were dismissed by Commissioner Karen A. Riley after she considered a motion to exclude evidence generated by automated ticketing vendor American Traffic Solutions (ATS). In light of the recent Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts ruling by the US Supreme Court (view ruling), Riley found the accused had a right to confront ATS witnesses.

Minneapolis Sues Redflex Over Camera Ticket Refund
Aug. 5, 2010 | TheNewspaper.com | Article |-| MinnPost.com | Article 2

Excerpt:

Minneapolis, Minnesota is angry enough at being forced to refund $2.6 million in red light camera tickets that it has filed a lawsuit against the private company it hired to issue those citations. The city last month filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County Court to recover damages, but Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia yesterday asked the US District Court for the District of Minnesota to take over the case.

"The constitutionality of the (city) ordinance was challenged and the Minnesota Supreme Court held it was pre-empted by state law," Minneapolis City Attorney Susan L. Segal wrote in a brief to the county court. "As a result of that challenge, the city incurred substantial losses."

Audit of Chillicothe reveals only one irregularity
Jul. 28, 2010 | Chillicothe Gazette | Article

Excerpt:

Although red-light cameras no longer are operating in the city, the management letter found some issues with the way Reflex Inc. had been collecting traffic fines on behalf of the city of Chillicothe. According to the letter, Redflex did not have an audit explaining its policies and procedures. The letter said the city had no assurance the traffic fines being processed were being done accurately.

Redflex, DPS Ignore Arizona Sign Laws
May. 16, 2010 | CameraFraud.com | Article

Excerpt:

Redflex and DPS have never paid a lot of attention to the laws that regulate photo enforcement on our state’s highways, and that was evident again this week on the Westbound Loop 101 at Scottsdale Rd. CameraFraud has documented over 5 violations so far.

Page 582 of the latest MUTCD (Dec 2009) specifies that temporary signs such as the signs used at mobile speed vans must be at least 1 foot from the ground. Clearly, the sign in the photo is touching the ground.

Arizona: Judge Slams Redflex On Eve Of Court Case
May. 11, 2010 | TheNewspaper.com | Article

Excerpt:

A federal judge on Thursday sharply criticized the legal filings of an Australian photo enforcement vendor less than two weeks before a jury trial was scheduled to begin. Redflex Traffic Systems is being sued by its Arizona-based rival, American Traffic Solutions (ATS), on the grounds that the Melbourne-based firm won the recently canceled statewide speed camera contract with the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) by allegedly lying about the certification of its equipment. If it loses, Redflex could be forced to pay its rival millions in potential damages for lost business. Already, the company's overall legal defense bill has reached $6.2 million for the past year.

Jonesborough man files suit over red-light camera ticket dispute
May. 5, 2010 | TriCities.com | Article

Excerpt:

A Jonesborough man who says he is being double billed for a red-light camera speeding ticket his wife received is suing the town of Jonesborough and the company who maintains the cameras.

Church is now filing a lawsuit against Jonesborough and Redflex for $24,000 in compensation.

Lawsuit targets Knoxville red-light camera system
Apr. 27, 2010 | KnoxNews.com | Article

Excerpt:

KNOXVILLE -- Four Knoxvillians are suing the city of Knoxville and Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., a former operator of the city's red-light camera system, contending that the program from 2005 to 2008 was contrary to the Tennessee Constitution.

Woman Gets Red Light Camera Ticket, But Car Is Not Hers
Apr. 26, 2010 | KFOXTV.com | Article

Excerpt:

EL PASO, Texas -- When Gracie Goetz opened her mail on Saturday, she said she got an ugly surprise.

“I got this official-looking scary thing that looked like I was in trouble,” Goetz told KFOX on the phone.

She lives in Austin, but somehow got a red light camera ticket in El Paso, even though she said she never drove her car in the Borderland.

Motorist Proves Calibration Firm Doesn't Exist
Feb. 23, 2010 | Herald Sun | Article

Note: We understand that Redflex runs the photo enforcement program in Victoria. It is unclear who prepared the documents showing where the equipment was calibrated.

The costs were awarded last July after the Office of Public Prosecutions withdrew charges against Mr King over a speeding ticket.

He and Mr Salger proved E and E Testing Laboratories, the company named on official documents as having calibrated a camera in Nth Balwyn, did not exist.

Police Toss Some Red Light Camera Tickets
2-21-10 | GalvestonDailyNews.com | Article

Excerpt:
But Jessica Hernandez, 28, of Pearland, has some issues with the program. The League City Police Department sent her a citation for running a red light going east at the intersection of I-45 and FM 518 on Jan. 1 at 8:38 a.m.

“I was sleeping at the time,” Hernandez said.

“And nobody was driving my car; my husband was at work,” she said. “My car was with me that morning.”

Feds Looking into Jefferson Parish Traffic Cameras
2-20-10 | FOX 8 Live | Article

Excerpt:
A source tells Fox 8 News that federal investigators are looking into
the red light camera program in Jefferson Parish and Interim Parish
President Steve Theriot confirms the feds do have the documents.

The parish recently suspended the contract after finding out an
insurance agent involved in the west Jeff hospital scandal is also set
to make money on the camera deal. Interim Parish President Steve Theriot
asked Redflex Traffic Systems a series of questions to get more
information on who's making money on the deal. The company promised to
have answers for Theriot within a day. That was nearly two weeks ago and
there's still no word.

Redflex Driver Crosses Gore, Runs Stop Sign
9-10-09 | CameraFraud.com | Article

Excerpt:
A driver for beleaguered Redflex Group found himself at the other end of the camera this past Thursday when a motorist videotaped him committing multiple moving violations on the Loop 101 westbound near 35th Avenue.

California Judge Declares Red Light Camera Program Illegal and Void
8-11-09 | TheNewspaper.com | Article

Excerpt:
A California judge last week began throwing out red light camera citations issued in Santa Ana. Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Kenneth Schwartz declared the city's program void because it had ignored several provisions of state law. Local attorneys Mark D. Sutherland and R. Allen Baylis had challenged the city for its failure to provide the required thirty-day warning period before beginning the program and its use of a prohibited per-ticket "cost neutral" compensation scheme.

Heath (Ohio) Speed Cameras Issuing False Triggers on Motorcycles
8-06-09 | NewarkAdvocate.com | Article

Excerpt:
It turns out, he's not the only one; apparently, motorcycles have been tripping the light fantastically often in the last few weeks, and nobody seems to know exactly why.

Redflex hasn't been able to explain why motorcycles are getting triggered, but it doesn't happen every time, Shepherd said.

Livingston Parish Dismisses Nearly 2,500 Tickets From Speed Van
3-19-09 | BusinessReport.com | Article

Excerpt:
The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office has ordered the contractor that operates the parish's speed van to dismiss 2,488 speeding tickets issued to drivers on Interstate 12, says Perry Rushing, chief operations officer for the sheriff's office.

All of the tickets were issued in late January and early February near mile marker 15, Rushing said, where the speed limit drops from 70 mph to 60 mph. After receiving several complaints from ticketed drivers, the sheriff's office reviewed all of the tickets issued during the first nine days the van was in service and determined the van operator had set up too close to the speed-zone change.

Redflex Performing Engineering Services Without Proper Licensing
Feb-2008 | North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors | Publication (Page 8 & Page 9)

CASE NO. V03-058
Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., unlicensed
Culver City, CA

VIOLATION: Practiced or offered to practice engineering in violation of G.S. 89C-24 and 55B.

BOARD ACTION: Issued letter to cause respondent to cease and desist offering or practicing engineering in NC until licensed with the Board. The services provided by the company that require engineering education, training or experience in order to properly perform and protect the public are within the definition of engineering in G.S. 89C, to include the disciplines of traffic, structural and electrical engineering whether by analysis and recommendation in reports or by the production of design/construction drawings. Subcontracting all engineering to properly licensed firms is acceptable with full disclosure to clients and in all marketing materials, to include the website (combined with Case No. V04-091).

Driver of Photo-Radar Van Arrested for DUI
9-09-08 | AZCentral.com | Article

Excerpt:
SCOTTSDALE - Police arrested the driver of a Redflex photo radar van on suspicion of DUI.

Roderick M. Ruffin, 53, had a blood alcohol content over 0.15 on Saturday while he was driving to Tempe to set up the van, police and company officials said. The legal limit is 0.08, and Ruffin's blood alcohol level is considered an extreme DUI.

Lawsuit Challenges Photo Radar Citations
9-05-08 | KPHO.com | Article

Excerpt:
Legal papers contend the citations issued by Redflex Traffic Systems before the first week in August are illegal, the newspaper reported.

The lawsuit, filed late last month in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleges the company was using radar guns that had not been cleared for use, according to the East Valley Tribune.

Arizona Official Confirms Redflex Falsified Speed Camera Documents
07-09-08 | TheNewspaper.com | Article

Excerpt:
Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer last week confirmed that documents used to convict motorists of speeding in Lafayette, Louisiana contained elements that had been falsified. Brewer revoked the license of Cheryl Krough, notary public for photo enforcement vendor Redflex after concluding that she violated four Arizona laws while purporting to certify a speed camera deployment form for use in official hearings.