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Two California women say the companies behind SCRAM’s alcohol monitoring system fraudulently generate false positives to increase their revenue.
Plaintiffs Roseanne Hansen and Jennifer Oh say the transdermal alcohol consumption monitoring devices made by defendants SCRAM of California Inc. and Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc. have been reporting false positive test results.
False positives can result in offenders being sent back to jail, having their bond revoked, or being ordered to continue wearing the SCRAM bracelet, the plaintiffs claim. They accuse SCRAM and AMS of generating false positives so that courts will order extended monitoring – resulting in more business income for SCRAM and AMS.
These SCRAM devices come in the form of ankle bracelets. In criminal prosecutions for offenses such as drunk driving, courts sometimes order individuals to wear such monitoring devices to monitor their consumption of alcohol.
The devices are manufactured by defendant Alcohol Monitoring Systems. SCRAM of California distributes these devices and provides associated monitoring services. Wearers are required to wear the ankle bracelet constantly.
Once a day, the wearer must upload device information to a monitoring center in Colorado, operated by AMS. When AMS receives a positive result from a SCRAM device, it reports that result to the court overseeing the customer’s prosecution.
But according to Hansen and Oh, these SCRAM devices are inherently prone to reporting false positives due to the nature of transdermal alcohol monitoring.
They claim that even when the wearer has consumed no alcohol, these devices are likely to detect and report environmental alcohol as a false positive. Fragrances, hand sanitizer, cleaning products or gasoline all can trigger a false positive from a SCRAM device, the plaintiffs claim.
Despite the alleged defect, the defendants advertise their SCRAM monitors as being able to detect the difference between “ingested alcohol” and environmental alcohol. Hansen and Oh argue that representation is false and misleading.
In fact, they say “numerous sources have documented instances of false-positive test results recorded by the SCRAM Device when the wearer was proven to have not consumed any alcohol.”
They cite a case in which a criminal defendant’s SCRAM device reported he had consumed alcohol for 63 hours straight and maintained the same blood alcohol level the entire time. Other reports showed a SCRAM device signaling a positive result at the same time a breath-alcohol test detected no alcohol at all.
Hansen claims her SCRAM device generated a false positive result while she was undergoing treatment at a alcohol rehabilitation center, where she could not and did not have access to alcohol. Breathalyzer testing conducted just before and after the SCRAM report showed she had not been drinking at all, Hansen claims.
Oh says her SCRAM system flagged a false positive after she complained about the high fees she was required to pay for the service – $225 per week plus a $325 enrollment fee.
Hansen and Oh are proposing to represent a nationwide plaintiff Class that would cover all persons in the U.S. who purchased the defendant’s SCRAM monitoring service from four years preceding the filing of this action through the date Class certification is granted. They also propose a subclass consisting of Class Members in California.
They are asking the court for an award of damages, restitution, court costs and attorney’s fees.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Edwin I. Aimufua of Law Offices of Edwin I. Amufua.
The SCRAM Ankle Bracelet False Positive Class Action Lawsuit is Roseanne Hansen, et al. v. SCRAM of California Inc., et al., Case No. 2:17-cv-01474, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
UPDATE: The SCRAM Ankle Bracelet False Positive Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on September 26, 2017. Top Class Actions will let viewers know if a new case is filed.
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154 thoughts onAlcohol Monitoring System Generates False Positives, Class Action Says
I just spent 30 days in jail due to a false positive scram reading. Scram as well as my probation officer now require me to return to wearing the device generating more money for Scram. Adding insult to injury my probation officer is now requiring me to go back to rehab despite my successful 17 month recovery. PLEASE HELP ,GOT BRACELET AGAIN TODAY AND AM FEARFUL FOR MY FREEDOM, SINCERELY ALLAN C.
I’ve been wearing a scram bracelet 6months the district attorney’s office said if i complete everything in six months I will be through. Well today’s check in is six months and low and behold somehow I drank alcohol a week before release. What b s. I could be incarcerated for a very long time for this lie. I have not drank but the agency says theres no way its wrong when i have urinary analysis starring otherwise. I believe it to be a financial scam that could very well jeopardize a person’s “such as mine” freedom not to mention constitutional rights. Something must be done.
Had scram bracelet on 45 days later it gives a reading stating I was drinking and their so called trained expert claims I was drinking when I know I did not. This isn’t cool playing with people’s lives like this and lying to the courts.
I am also a victim of Scram. I been on this braclet for 11 months now. I pay $ 300.00 a month I haven’t had a drink in over a year now. But the bracket said I had to confrmed alcohol consumption. Which I have to go to court on 5/14/2008 on, which they have threaten me on throwing me in jail, I really need some help with this.
Had my scram bracelet on for 30 days. Got it taken off. Then a month later got called into my PO’s office. He gave me some graphs/charts saying that I potentially tampered with the bracelet. I never did. Now I have a court date where I will have to try and prove my innocence. Not sure how I can do that because these things “make no errors”. What a joke.
I have been on the scram braclet for almost 2 months and have 4 more to go.i was contacted by probation yesterday to inform me of a tamper with a positive BAC…but I haven’t drank nor have I had a problem with any products that I use….my results say I reached a .06….this is impossible….the only thing I can think of is an error with the monitoring…but it’s also funny that this happened right after I filed hardship papers…and still am required to pay 150 a month …someone please help because I didn’t do anything and I’m afraid if what ever caused this happens again they will violate me.i wish I knew what caused this so I can prevent repercussions for something I haven’t done
I just had the same situation with this scram device where it registered that I drank. I now have to remand myself next week to serve the final days if my house arrest period. Is the class action lawsuits still open to new plaintiffs??
I was falsely prosecuted from a false alert that claimed I removed bracelet and never did. Lost my career opportunity along with ptsd anxiety from wearing it.
I just spent five days in jail because this monitor says i violated not once but twice the same weekend they revoked my bond thru me in jail and doubled my original bond. I did not drink my family was with me on the times it says i was drinking they know I’m innocent i have a hearing after i demanded to prove i didn’t violate the reason I’m wearing it is totally my fault it was a stupid decision but to try and change things around and do the right thing and still get in more trouble is just not right i need to prove i didn’t do this or I’m going to go to prison!
I agree with Mike Drews! Something has to be done with this!!!!