Ohioans say they are pursued for paid-off fines

COLUMBUS (AP) — Some motorists are complaining that old traffic fines they already paid off to one Ohio county are coming back to haunt them.

About 1,000 people have contacted officials in southeast Ohio’s Hocking County this week to say they’ve heard from a collection agency about tickets already resolved, in some cases as far back as 20 years ago.

Municipal Court Clerk Michele Bell said Tuesday that a glitch that occurred in 1999, when the court changed data systems. The problem came to light amid ongoing efforts by the county to recover outstanding debts and bolster its budget.

About 10,000 debt-collection letters went out last week. Bell says she’s not sure how many were sent by mistake and how many went to people who still owe money.