Delaware County Trucking Company Owes PA Turnpike $27,000 After Not Paying Tolls For More Than 8 Years, Prosecutors Say
YEADON, Pa. (CBS) -- Twenty-seven thousand dollars -- that's the amount of money prosecutors say a Delaware County trucking company owes the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a first-of-its-kind case. You might pay the toll traveling along the PA Turnpike, but not everyone does.
Detectives say that includes Forrsmith Logistics Services based in Yeadon, Delaware County. So CBS3 went and tracked down the owner, demanding answers.
"Were you trying to rip off the turnpike?" CBS3's Matt Petrillo asked.
Only Eyewitness News was there as 41-year-old Darnell Smith walked into a magistrate's office Monday in King Of Prussia, saying nothing.
"How do you rack up nearly $27,000 in tolls and fees?" Petrillo asked.
Prosecutors say Smith owns Forrsmith Logistics Services, and trucks registered to his company were captured on camera traveling through the Valley Forge Interchange on the PA Turnpike hundreds of times between May 2012 and July this year.
But prosecutors say the trucks did not use an E-ZPass and stiffed the turnpike.
"We've charged him for owing $27,000 -- over $27,000 in tolls," said Bucks County Assistant District Attorney Jovin Jose.
Prosecutors also point out this is the first case that accuses a business of being a turnpike toll cheat in Montgomery County since Montgomery and Bucks Counties joined forces with the PA Turnpike earlier this year.
That's when the highway announced it would more aggressively go after toll evaders. Previously, the drivers who didn't pay multiple tolls would get a suspended license.
Still, Smith denies owing the turnpike $27,000.
"It wasn't a ripoff. It was a misunderstanding, that's all," he said.
But what Smith calls a misunderstanding, prosecutors call breaking the law.
"When you have individuals evading tolls, not just once or twice, but hundreds of times, that's not only unfair to other motorists and law-abiding citizens, it's also criminal," Jose said.
Smith is charged with theft of services. He waived his preliminary hearing today and prosecutors are hoping to avoid going to trial.
"The turnpike commission is able to do a pattern of travel to figure out typically where he would have gotten on and gotten off," Jose said.
Court documents show Smith told detectives he'll pay when he has the money, but he's not quite there.
But Smith was also heard on a podcast called "Better Than Success" in 2016 giving advice to entrepreneurs. The podcast website says the previous year, Forrsmith Logistics generated $5 million in revenue.
