Grandmother got a $353 bill from Roseville fire — despite never leaving Omaha
A Nebraska woman who has never lived in California, let alone visited the Golden State, got something she never expected to see: a bill from the Roseville Fire Department.
Linda Johnson has spent her entire life in Omaha, Nebraska, raising her family and working for years as an administrator at Creighton University’s College of Nursing. The 78-year-old grandmother has taken an ambulance ride before — just never one that apparently ended with a bill for paramedic services 1,350 miles away.
“I’ve got enough bills. I’ve got enough problems. I don’t need some in Roseville, which I’ve never heard of,” she told First Alert 6, a TV station in Omaha that helped her solve — and resolve — the mystery bill.
Johnson received three notices in December regarding a $353 first responder fee for Fire Department service from the city of Roseville.
When the first notice arrived, she didn’t think much of it. The second one seemed a little strange, but she still brushed it off. When a third notice showed up, she decided it was time to call in backup — her son.
Her son, Ron Trammel, said he knew Johnson couldn’t possibly have been in Roseville — especially on the Monday listed on the bill.
“There’s no way (she) could’ve been there. Because every Saturday, my mom gets a blood draw and she gets an iron shot — tests her blood,” he said.
Trammel, 61, said if doctors see something unusual, Johnson sometimes returns Sunday to receive one to two units of blood. Trammel is in charge of taking her to those appointments.
The retired electrician said he tries to protect his mother.
“Trying to keep her active and whatnot. You know, we want her to be around here as long as possible,” he said. “So, I try to do things to encourage her and help her out and I will not allow anyone to scam my mom.”
Johnson said they called the number listed on the bill, but no one answered. Her son researched the Roseville Fire Department and called, only to be placed on hold.
“I said that ain’t doing it for me,” Trammel said. “I’m gonna call Mike McKnight and see if he can get to the bottom of this.”
Mike McKnight is a longtime reporter in Nebraska. He has worked at WOWT-TV for 49 years.
McKnight got a hold of a spokesperson in Roseville, impressing the duo who had been on hold for a half-hour with no answers.
Trammel said the spokesperson said city uses a third party vendor, Wittman Enterprises, to bill customers.
The Sacramento Bee reached out to Rancho Cordova-based Wittman Enterprises in various ways but never received a response.
Jamie Garrett, a spokesperson for the Fire Department, said the errant bill to Johnson was a rare mistake.
“This was an error involving a single bill that was inadvertently sent to an out-of-state individual with no connection to our community,” she said. “We sincerely apologize for the confusion and distress this caused.”
The Fire Department worked with Wittman to correct the mistake, she said.
“The bill has been voided, no payment is due, and we have communicated directly with the individual listed on the bill to confirm the resolution,” Garrett said.
Johnson and Trammel said a city spokesperson told them the charge was meant for a different Linda Johnson — one who lives in California, not Nebraska.
“The explanation about being another Linda M Johnson with the exact same birthday living in Roseville, California didn’t fly with me,” Trammel said.
According to California voter registration data, there are at least 439 people named Linda Johnson living in the state.
He had no hard feelings for the city but said he felt as though the vendor billed them with “intent.” He claimed people are either going to pay it or it won’t go away, putting additional financial stress on their life. Mom agreed.
“They could try to put it on a collection agency or even on my credit report. I’ve got some fairly decent insurance because I did have an ambulance pick up one time,” Johnson said. “They don’t bill you. They go through your insurance, you know, it just didn’t make sense.”
Johnson said a city spokesperson apologized and told her she might receive one more notice while the system updated, but none has arrived so far.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 9:33 AM.
