Redflex, an Australian company that operates red light cameras and speed cameras for more than 170 US cities, is under scrutiny by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Stephanie Ware, a private investigator in Lafayette, Louisiana, filed a complaint with the federal agency after she received a ticket in the mail in November.

"It was for my sixteen-year-old daughter but it stated that since I own the vehicle, I must pay," Ware explained to TheNewspaper. "I was not going to pay it and I didn't."

Ware then received a default notice from Redflex's office in Scottsdale, Arizona. The envelope was labeled: "Official Government Business: Response Required" (view envelope). Ware said that the letter contained inside amounted to an extortion demand.

"Inside it said that I failed to pay the invoice and because of that I gave up my right to contest it," Ware said. "No grace period -- send the money now or we can sue you, immobilize your vehicle or report you to a collection agency." (View letter)

The use of the phrase "official government business" on an envelope by a non-governmental entity raises red flags for the US Postal Service and could violate a statute prohibiting mail that implies a false connection with the federal government as (39 USC Section 3001).

KVOL radio talk show host Todd C. Elliott set up a website to assist anyone who has received a citation in the mail from Redflex in forwarding a copy to the postal inspector as evidence. The website can be found at: ReportRedflex.com

The Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners is also currently investigating whether Redflex has violated a state law requiring private investigator licenses for anyone in the business of providing photographic evidence for use in court cases.