Sandy and Terry McGee of Antioch say they were blindsided when the state grabbed their tax refund to cover more than $10,000 in toll fines from a Southern California express lane they insist they have never driven. The penalties, listed as 161 separate citations, were tied to trips on the 91 Express Lanes, an approximately 18-mile commuter corridor between Riverside and Orange counties, that the couple says they could not have possibly used.
According to ABC7, the McGees were counting on a $1,052 state tax refund, only to be told that the Franchise Tax Board had intercepted the money at the request of the Orange County Transportation Authority to cover outstanding tolls and fees. The notice said the charges were linked to a Cadillac registered to Terry McGee and spanned alleged trips over several years. The couple believes the mess traces back to a 2017 home burglary, when thieves made off with Terry’s driver’s license, Social Security card and other personal documents…