AREA 51 Plate — Official Notice

Notice to All Agencies & Debt Collectors

If you are reading this page, you are hereby on notice.

This page serves as documented public notice that any toll violation, traffic citation, or debt collection attempt you have attributed — or intend to attribute — to Nevada plate AREA 51, registered to ELEMENT 115 LLC, that does not correspond to the registered vehicle on file is fraudulent and invalid. The debt is not mine. I do not owe it. I will not pay it.

If you are attempting to collect on such a debt, you are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., including but not limited to:

Collecting debts not owed — You are pursuing a debt that does not belong to me. This is the most common FDCPA violation, comprising 56% of all CFPB debt collection complaints.
Failure to validate debt — Under FDCPA § 809, you are required to provide written validation within five days of initial contact and must cease collection upon dispute until you provide verification. You cannot verify this debt because it is not mine.
Misrepresentation — Asserting that I owe a debt when I do not constitutes a deceptive practice under § 807.
Unfair practices — Attempting to collect amounts not authorized by law under § 808.

Statutory Damages: Under the FDCPA, I am entitled to recover up to $1,000 per violation in statutory damages, plus actual damages, attorney's fees, and court costs. Every violation is documented. Complaints have been and will continue to be filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Your receipt of this notice eliminates any claim of good faith in pursuing collection of these debts.

The Situation

I am the custodian of Nevada's official "AREA 51" vanity license plate, registered to ELEMENT 115 LLC. Over the past seven-plus years, I have received over 350 wrongful traffic and toll violations because novelty souvenir plates — sold at gift shops across the country — bear my actual registration details on a fake Nevada plate. Automated ticketing systems nationwide misattribute these violations to me instead of the actual vehicle owners. Agencies have sent me fraudulent debt collection letters, and law enforcement has even threatened me with arrest warrants based on these erroneous records.

Every single violation I have received has been successfully disputed. I am not the driver. I am not the vehicle. The debt is not mine. This page exists to put every agency and collector on documented notice of that fact.

Before You Send Me a Violation

You must verify the vehicle. Cross-reference the plate against the actual registered vehicle on file with the Nevada DMV before issuing any citation or collection notice to me. If the vehicle does not match, the debt is not mine.
You must confirm the plate is state-issued. Novelty and souvenir plates with "AREA 51" markings are commercially sold items — they are not official Nevada registrations. If your system cannot distinguish a souvenir from a real plate, that is your failure, not my debt.
You must not pursue fraudulent debt. If the vehicle does not match, you have no valid claim. Pursuing collection is an FDCPA violation subject to statutory damages, and I will exercise my rights accordingly.

My Rights Under the FDCPA

As the custodian of this plate, I am exercising the following rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Any agency reading this is on notice:

I have 30 days to dispute any debt after initial contact from a collector — and I will dispute every fraudulent one.
Once I dispute, you must cease all collection activity until you provide written verification. You will not be able to verify these debts because they are not mine.
I have filed and will continue to file complaints with the CFPB (1-855-411-2372) and FTC (1-877-FTC-HELP) for every fraudulent collection attempt.
I may file a lawsuit within one year of any violation for statutory damages — and I intend to.

Media Coverage

This story has been covered by major news outlets nationwide and went viral with 1.8 million views on TikTok.

Featured

USA Today

Nevada Man Has the Real AREA 51 Plate — and a Pile of Traffic Tickets from Fake Plates

Reno resident Chris Sandoval has received over 350 wrongful violations after novelty souvenir plates sold at gift shops triggered automated ticketing systems nationwide.