A New Jersey bus company and its owner have been charged with accumulating approximately $290,000 in unpaid tolls for trips between New Jersey and New York. The charges were announced by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice.
Somaya Elkaramany, 57, of Bayonne, faces five counts of theft of services, including one second-degree count and four third-degree counts. Her business, Best Big Bus LLC, is also named in several of the charges.
“The defendant and her company are charged with racking up nearly $300,000 in unpaid tolls for thousands of trips back and forth between New Jersey and New York,” said Attorney General Platkin. “The tolls we all pay go to maintain the vital bridges, tunnels, and roads that our state depends on. We will not tolerate anyone who tries to cheat the system.”
“No one enjoys paying tolls, but our transportation system relies on them for the revenue needed to maintain it,” said DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton. “The indictment alleges that this defendant used the system for her business but failed to pay her fair share – something we all must do.”
According to case documents, Elkaramany owned and operated vehicles registered both to herself and Best Big Bus LLC. Between October 1, 2020, and September 25, 2025, she and her company incurred about $290,000 in unpaid tolls owed to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Best Big Bus is registered as a New Jersey corporation providing transportation service between Hudson County and New York City. Elkaramany is listed as a registered agent as well as a driver for the company.
Investigators found that three license plates registered to Best Big Bus and two plates registered to Elkaramany accumulated separate amounts of unpaid tolls through thousands of citation violations over several years.
The investigation was conducted jointly by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the Port Authority Police Department.
Deputy Attorney General Christopher Scerbo is prosecuting the case.
If convicted on second-degree charges, Elkaramany could face five to ten years in state prison with fines up to $150,000. Third-degree charges carry possible sentences of three to five years in prison with fines up to $15,000.
All charges are accusations at this stage; Elkaramany is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
