25+ Of The Most Ridiculous Fines You Never Knew Existed

Year: 2014
Location: Portsmouth, England
Fine: $103*

Everyone has their own ideas of where the line is between humorous and inappropriate. In the summer of 2014, Anthony Stallard crossed that line. First, he and one of his mates thought it would be a good idea to play some soccer in the cemetery. If that wasn’t enough, with mourners close enough to hear and see him, Stallard began waving his arms around and making ghost noises. His actions were enough to give his friend a laugh, the mourners some distress, and himself an unpleasant fine.

Man Fined for Pretending to Be a Ghost ©Raggedstone / Shutterstock.com

Aside from the initial fine of 35 pounds, Anthony Stallard had to pay 20 pounds in court fees as well as an additional 20 pounds in victim payments. All up, Stallard ended up paying 75 pounds ($103 USD) in fines and had 3 months added on to his already existing 1-year suspended sentence. Hopefully, Stallard has learned his lesson and understands that ghosts are strictly for Halloween and haunted houses.

Year: 2010
Location: U.S.A.
Fine: $25,000*

The year was 2010, and social media was still in its infant stage. Twitter was only 4-years-old at the time, however, it was popular enough that the NFL had to implement rules against its players and coaches using electronic devices or posting messages to the platform while they were meant to be working. Apparently, going 5 hours a day without “tweeting” isn’t as easy as one would think. 

NFL Fines Player $25k for In-Game Tweets @mlivedotcom / Pinterest.com

Known for an outlandish attitude and flashy gameplay throughout his career, Chad Ochocinco was never one to shy away from the spotlight. Following a preseason game on August 20, 2010, Ochocinco was fined $25,000 for the lack of restraint he showed when he felt it necessary to “tweet” his frustrations about a hit he had taken earlier in the contest. As Chad so passive-aggressively pointed out, $25,000 isn’t much to a man who earns $5 million a year. In fact, to Ochocinco $25K is nothing more than “2 months of my Bugatti payments”.

Year: 2020
Location: JetBlue Flight
Fine: $10,500*

There are a few unwritten rules to air travel. One of these rules has to do with staying calm while on a flight and not causing a scene. Many people are uncomfortable enough flying, to begin with, that, someone causing a raucous is the last thing they need. A passenger on a JetBlue flight in December of 2020, apparently, didn’t get the memo.

JetBlue Passenger Fined for Blowing Nose in Blanket ©VanoVasaio / Shutterstock.com

A passenger was fined $10,500 for reportedly making the flight crew’s jobs difficult and preventing them from performing their duties. By “reportedly”, we mean he most definitely was. He refused to put on his mask while on the flight and, when prompted by the flight crew to do so, he coughed and blew his nose into one of the flight blankets. As a result of the FAA’s zero-tolerance policy, it doesn’t seem like this fine will get away unpaid.

Year: 2010
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Fine: $588.88*

On a busy Melbourne highway in 2010, Michael Wiles was photographed wearing a barbecue while riding his motorcycle. That’s right, wearing a barbecue. Wiles had found the barbecue earlier in the day and, without any other options for transporting it, slipped his body through the appliance’s wooden frame and watched the road through the metal grill while cruising along the highway at 45mph.

Motorcyclist Fined For Wearing a Barbecue While Driving ©Anna Om / Shutterstock.com

In his defense, Michael Wiles blamed the fact that he was poverty-stricken at the time and was using a “lack of thought processes”. It’s safe to say the courts didn’t see that as an excuse to endanger other commuters who would have been on the highway at the time. Due to his reckless behavior, Wiles was subsequently fined $588.88 and had his license suspended for a month. He went through all this trouble for a barbecue that “was a dud and did not work”.

Year: 2021
Location: Egypt
Fine: $900 Million*

Considering 10% of the world maritime trade passes through the Suez Canal when the ‘Ever Given’, a 400-meter long cargo ship and its crew got stuck and caused a blockage of the canal, the fears that people had of the event impacting world trade (more specifically oil prices) were quite justified.

Egypt Demands $1.18B Fine Over Suez Canal Blockage ©Roger Anis / Gettyimages.com

It was originally estimated that it would take weeks in order to set the ship free from its shallow prison, however, after only six days of tireless work, the ‘Ever Given’ had been freed, or had it? Until a fine of $900 million is paid (to cover the costs that were lost due to the blockage) by the ship’s owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Egypt has made it quite clear that the ‘Ever Given’ will remain impounded in the Great Bitter Lake.

Year: 2010
Location: Switzerland
Fine: $1,000,000*

The most common laws to differ from country to country are the rules of the road. That’s why, when visiting a foreign country, it’s a good idea to have a glance over the local laws to see if anything differs from our countries of origin. Although not all laws might be different, the penalties for committing an offense in a foreign country might be enough to break the bank. 

Swedish Driver Gets World's Largest Speeding ©Fine Stasiuk / Shutterstock.com

The Swedish driver who rocketed along the Swiss motorway in his $193,000 Mercedes SLS AMG at two and a half times the speed limit in 2010, either didn’t know the laws or didn’t think he’d be caught. If the 37-year-old man was caught going 180mph in almost any other country, the $1,000,000 fine he was given would have been significantly less. In Switzerland, however, traffic fines are calculated based on the severity of the offense and the offender’s income level.

Year: 2008
Location: Dubai, UAE
Fine: $278/each*

During Ramadan, followers of the Islamic religion abstain from eating or drinking anything (even water) from dusk until dawn. As a result of the religious significance of this fast, according to Article 313 of the UAE’s Federal Penal Code, people are forbidden to eat or drink in public spaces during the daytime hours of Ramadan. This information was not known to a mixed Russian/Lebanese couple, and they were made to stand trial in 2008, for drinking orange juice in public.

Couple Gets Fined for Drinking Juice in Public ©Agnieszka Marcinska / Shutterstoc.com

Those who do not follow the religion are not forced to join in the fast, however, during Ramadan, they are asked to consume food and beverages in the privacy of their own homes during the day. Pleading ignorance was good enough to help the couple avoid a larger penalty than they received, however, citing that responsibility is not negated due to ignorance, the judge still found the two guilty and fined them $278 per person.

Year: 2010
Location: Georgia, U.S.A.
Fine: $5,200*

In theory, Steve Miller of Clarkston, Georgia, is the ideal neighbor and friend. He’s friendly, caring, and grows his own vegetables, which he either gives to friends or sells at the local farmer’s market. It had been 15 years since Miller had begun to grow his organic garden, but finally, the proper authorities had become wise to the activities of this criminal mastermind and they were ready to make him pay.

Georgia Man Fined For Growing Too Many Vegetables ©HQuality / Shutterstock.com

In the zone of Dekalb County, where Miller resides, having a garden of the size that Steve Miller did was illegal. As a result, he was slapped with a $5,200 fine. A fine of which he refused to pay. Instead, following a lengthy legal battle he had his home rezoned in order to allow him to grow the cabbage and legumes, that he had become so fond of growing for the community. “Cabbagegate” did not end there, however, as the county was still hoping to enforce the initial fine, which Miller had no intention of paying.

Year: 2017
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Fine: $2.7 Billion*

As far as fines go, few are able to top the one that the EU regulators gave Google for monopoly abuse. In 2017, the company was charged almost $2.7 billion for having “abused its dominance as a search engine by giving illegal advantages to another Google product, its shopping comparison service”. In other words, when someone was to search on Google’s search engine for anything shopping comparison-related, their own services would top the list of results.

Google Fined For Unfair Advertising Rules ©LittlePigPower / Shutterstock.com

Google was said to have been planning on appealing the charge, however, considering the company could have been fined for up to 10% of its previous annual earnings (as per EU regulatory guidelines) — which would have amounted to just about $9 billion — we’d say they got off pretty easy.

Year: 1991
Location: Sweden
Fine: $680*

In Sweden, if “for some obvious reason” a name is “not suitable as a first name”, the courts are able to reject the usage of the given name. Anyone who thinks that this is a ridiculous law wouldn’t be alone. In 1991, in protest of the law, Lasse Diding and Elisabeth Hallin decided to take things into their own hands — at the expense of their newborn son’s first name. The Swedish courts rejected the first few choices the couple had made for their son’s name and fined them 5,000 kronor ($680 in 1991).

Couple Gets Fined For Bad Baby Name ©ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

If they would have been allowed to stick with the initial name they had come up with for their son, it would have been pronounced “Albin”, however, it would have been spelled a little differently. The 43-character “Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116”, was said to have been a “pregnant, expressionistic development” that the couple saw as “an artistic creation”. I see it as one heck of a name for a 6-year-old Albin to try and write on his school work. Eventually, the couple settled on the name “Albin Hallin”, spelled “Albin Hallin”, and that’s probably for the best.

Year: 2002
Location: Filbert Street Stadium, England
Fine: $13,741.40*

It’s only natural for us to feel under the weather sometimes. Just as we can’t expect our bodies to be functioning at 100% all the time, neither can professional athletes, no matter how well trained they are meant to be. Leading up to a soccer match between Leicester and Aston Villa, Robbie Savage was having some “stomach issues”. 

Welsh Soccer Player Fined for Going #2 ©Oleh Dubyna / Shutterstock.com

Never one to let down his fans, there was never a question as to whether or not he’d suit up. Instead of sitting the match out, he opted to play and subsequently had a seat in the official’s toilet instead. Although the players are not permitted to use the official’s toilet, due to an “emergency” Savage used it anyway and was handed a fine of 2-week’s wages by the association.

Year: 2010
Location: Switzerland
Fine: $92*

There are many people in this crazy world of ours who would prefer to spend their days free of the restrictions that clothing puts on them, and not just in the comfort of their own homes. The good news for nudists in Switzerland is that public nudity isn’t actually against the law there. However, public indecency is, and one hiker found that out the hard way.

Swiss Man Fined for Naked Hiking in the Alps ©lzf / Shutterstock.com

While on one of his naked walks in a particularly devout region of the Swiss Alps, an unidentified man strolled on past both, a drug rehab center and a picnic area that was occupied by families. Needless to say, those who witnessed the hiker’s “full glory” were not too pleased. The authorities were promptly notified, and the man was fined 100 francs ($92 USD).

Year: 2008
Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
Fine: $1,650*

A luxury motorized chair with cup holders as well as somewhere to store snacks and drinks is every couch potato’s dream. By combining a recliner and a lawnmower, Dennis Anderson created something of which Al Bundy and Homer Simpson would be envious. On one fateful day in 2008, however, Anderson made the mistake of driving his creation home after a trip to the local pub.

Couch Potato Fined After Motorised Armchair Crash @toptenz / Pinterest.com

Anderson’s blood-alcohol level was in excess of three times the legal limit when his motorized racing chair smashed into a parked car. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and although the 62-year-old claimed that the accident only occurred as a result of a woman jumping onto his chair, his intoxication level could not be ignored, and the police slapped him with a $1,650 fine. Anderson pled guilty, paid his fine, and sadly, auctioned his masterpiece off on eBay.

Year: 2019
Location: Florida, U.S.A.
Fine: $30,000*

One would think that by owning their own home they would have the freedom to landscape their property in whatever way they see fit. That includes doing no landscaping at all by letting the grass on the lawn grow taller than “normal”. Unfortunately, different cities have different rules, and oddly enough, some of these rules include mowing the lawn and keeping up the appearance of the neighborhood.

Florida Man Fined 30k for Not Mowing His Lawn ©Tippman98x / Shutterstock.com

In 2018, when Jim Ficken was out of town, the city of Dunedin, Florida, fined him for the height of the grass on his front lawn. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Not as ridiculous as the $30,000 price tag on the fine. Ficken’s attorney has said that the “ruling is wrong on the law, and we will be appealing” and that, “If $30,000 for tall grass in Florida is not excessive, it is hard to imagine what is.” Now, rules are rules, however, a fine of two-thirds of the average American’s yearly salary is a little over the top.