OAKLAND PARK, Fla. – A Local 10 News investigation that sparked a criminal probe into a South Florida license plate customization business has now reached a turning point: the Broward County state attorney has declined to file charges.
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In November 2024, WPLG first reported on the Florida Highway Patrol’s crackdown on altered license plates—specifically targeting a business called Platemakrs in Oakland Park.
The business, which boasts a large social media following, offers custom wraps and stylized modifications to state-issued license plates. These visual changes, authorities say, violate state law.
FHP had recommended criminal charges against two men, Clayton Holderness and John Georgetti, alleging they counterfeited official state license plates in violation of Florida Statute 320.26(1)(a).
State records show Holderness and Georgetti are listed as owners of Platemakrs. But now, prosecutors say the evidence doesn’t support a criminal case.
“We understand and support what the Florida Highway Patrol law enforcement officers are doing to keep our streets safe,” wrote Paula McMahon, Director of Communications and Media Relations for the Broward County State Attorney’s Office, in a statement to Local 10 News. “But unfortunately, in these two cases, the evidence was not enough to prove a criminal violation.”
Instead, the state attorney’s office said the case may meet the criteria for a noncriminal traffic violation under a separate statute—Florida Statute 320.061—which deals with unlawfully altering a license plate.
A senior prosecutor reviewed the cases and determined that while the plates were indeed altered, they were not counterfeited. The distinction, they said, is crucial.
According to the prosecutor’s findings, Georgetti’s business involved wrapping legitimate plates with a colored product that changes the plate’s appearance but does not alter the letters, numbers or state designation. That action, they concluded, lacks the required “intent to deceive” necessary for a counterfeiting charge.
“The plates have been altered but not counterfeited,” the prosecutor wrote. “The license plates in issue are being created as a rough imitation of an original plate with the sole difference being in coloration… the intent in the creation of those plates is not to deceive law enforcement.”
The same reasoning applied to Holderness, whose role as a listed officer in the company was found insufficient to support a criminal charge.
While the state attorney declined prosecution, they encouraged FHP to continue working with their office on future cases and even suggested FHP consider proposing legislative changes to clarify or strengthen the law.
Local 10’s original investigation revealed that nearly 80% of all illegal plate alteration citations in Florida were issued in South Florida —702 of 893 tickets statewide at the time.
FHP Lt. Alex Camacho made clear the agency’s intent to curb the growing trend of flashy, altered, but unlawful tags.
“If you put this tag on your car, we are going to seize that tag. You are going to get your vehicle towed and get an infraction for it,” Camacho warned last fall.
Platemakrs was prominently featured in that report. When Local 10 visited the business in November, a man later confirmed to be Georgetti denied any involvement.
Georgetti’s Ferrari bore a customized plate reading “PL8MKRS,” and court records show he had already been cited for an altered plate earlier in the year.
Camacho and FHP’s Bureau of Investigations said they were continuing to follow up with businesses like Platemakrs, ensuring they were aware of the legal consequences.
Meanwhile, Local 10 has also learned that another South Florida business, M4WRAPS, is offering similar plate customizations on social media.
The outcome of the Platemakrs investigation exposes a legal gray area between what constitutes a traffic infraction and what rises to the level of a criminal act.
The statute used by FHP in its investigation — F.S. 320.26 — uses the word “counterfeit” without clearly defining it, a detail that ultimately led prosecutors to conclude that the case could not be successfully tried.
The state attorney’s office says they remain open to working with FHP and lawmakers to potentially strengthen or revise the law to better reflect modern customization trends.
As of now, altering a state-issued plate — even if not criminal — is still illegal in Florida and can result in traffic citations and vehicle impoundments.
FHP’s message remains clear: If your license plate is customized beyond the state’s approved designs, you’re risking more than just style points.