LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying three tech-savvy criminals wanted for a series of car burglaries in which they used an unknown device to gain keyless entry to vehicles. The men are accused of breaking into seven vehicles in an East Long Beach neighborhood on the night of Feb. 26, according to Long Beach police. The suspects were caught on surveillance using small handled devices that caused “the vehicle’s dome light to come on and doors to unlock,” Det. Joseph Starbird said in a news release.
A few months later, she wanted to upgrade and another dealership offered to buy the car from her. But when that company ran a check on the car’s history, there was a problem. Fernandez’s odometer had been rolled back. When she purchased the car in April 2012 from Affordable Motors, the odometer showed 56,447 miles. That turned out to be untrue. The actual mileage was 187,677, miles at the time Fernandez purchased it. Affordable Motors said it has nothing to do with the mileage discrepancy. “There was a problem before us,” said Affordable Motors owner Felisberto “Felix” Sanchez. “The problem was not us. She’s probably right, but the problem was with a previous out of town dealer.” Sanchez said he runs checks on all his vehicles and nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the Chrysler he sold to Fernandez. Odometer fraud is a national problem, but consumers can take steps to protect themselves. In Fernandez’s case, she did not see her vehicle’s Carfax. The Carfax would have provided a history report for her Chrysler including any possible odometer discrepancies. “If I could do it again, I would absolutely make sure I see the Carfax first.” Federal law requires the…
A veteran Winnipeg police officer was allegedly running an international luxury-vehicle scam that duped several victims, including a prominent city defence lawyer, out of thousands of dollars. Justice sources and court documents reveal extensive details of the case, which came to light last year and only became public this week. The police have released limited information other than confirming Sgt. Richard Sierhuis is facing numerous fraud-related charges. Sierhuis, 47, once worked with the Winnipeg Police Service’s professional standards unit, the department that began investigating his conduct last fall and authorized his arrest in late March.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo — A national crime ring – busted. Investigators say a trailer theft operation here in the Ozarks reached far across the USA. Detectives say South Valley Trailer, LLC, located at 1219 E. Division Street, would steal trailers, change the vin numbers, and then sell them out of state – as far away as North Dakota. The bust dates back to December 2012, when several trailers were reported stolen in Springfield; security cameras captured some of them. Someone spotted a missing trailer at South Valley a few days later, prompting a police investigation. Sales records showed transports to a company in North Dakota, who posted pictures of trailers of sale. The pictures matched the descriptions of the stolen property. Officers say details helped crack the case. “People need to make sure they know serial numbers and the info of the trailers and keep them secure,” Lt. Kevin Grizzell tells KSPR News. “Keep them locked up and chain them. The harder you make it to steal, the less likely it is to be stolen.” Detectives went back to the company’s offices last month and took several hard drives and computers. Officers think files saved on those drives will reveal the…
COBB COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) – CBS Atlanta News questioned the current owner of a 1995 Nissan Maxima in Cobb County on Wednesday. He’s selling the car on Craigslist for $3,500 and with just 140,000 miles. He bought the car from Stewart Smith a month earlier. Smith said he sold the car with 241,000 miles. “It’s been 10 years since it had 141,000 miles on it,” Smith said. In fact, Smith’s Craigslist posting from July included a photograph of the odometer. You can only imagine what he thought when he noticed his old car was for sale again with 100,000 fewer miles. “My initial thought was with the lower mileage I certainly hope is a typo and apparently as your investigation found out, it is not,” Smith said. So CBS Atlanta’s Adam Murphy tracked down the new owner and seller of the car to ask him about it.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– A KY3 investigation leads to an investigation by Missouri’s Attorney General’s office. A used car dealership in Springfield — Excel Auto Group, LLC — near Scenic and Walnut Lawn — can no longer operate after being raided on Thursday by the Department of Revenue and the AG’s office. At issue– complaints about rolling back odometers. Julie Schiffner started her search for a car online, and found what she thought was the perfect vehicle for the perfect price. “We asked for a Carfax and he provided it and so we would never have thought to go spend the money then to double check and make sure the one he provided us was correct,” Schiffner said. So they bought it, a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. They had it for two weeks when they got some bad news that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A close friend just happened to run an independent Carfax check for them. “He checked it to see if the timing belt had ever been changed and that’s when we realized that the mileage was completely wrong,” she said. One hundred thousand miles wrong.
USED car buyers have been warned to beware of shonky sellers winding back odometers, with a report revealing tens of thousands of used cars have been “clocked”. The illegal practice is most common in South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland where one in 100 vehicles has been tampered with, according to consumer vehicle research site carhistory.com.au The site found that in the year to March, just under 1 per cent of used cars it checked had odometers wound back which, if representative of the national used car market, meant tens of thousands of vehicles were being sold under false pretences. Carhistory boss David Scognamiglio said the report indicated that every state had groups of shonky sellers who had evaded detection and prosecution for misrepresenting odometer readings. “Many sellers fail to provide statutory warranties and falsify log books and other documents to car buyers,” he said. “No one wants to buy a car to find out in the next few months that they’ve been ripped off, the warranty is void or they are having issues due to the vehicle’s extensive use.” Individual offenders face up to two years in jail and fines of $40,000 to $60,000, depending on the state, while organisations…
On Friday, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office announced it had arrested five men in an $3.1 million racketeering scheme. The Sheriff’s Office also said it is still searching for five more suspects. In 2008 the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into a $3.1 million racketeering scheme involving luxury car and credit card fraud. Five suspects were arrested Thursday in what the Sheriff’s Office is calling an organized crime ring. Five more suspects are still at-large. Arrested Suspects: Tihomir Botchev, 32, of 291 Keating Drive, Largo Ivan Petrov, 31, of 2461 61st Lane, St. Petersburg Georgi Angelov, 28, of 11440 8th Way N., St. Petersburg Martin Jordanov, 27, of 4046 11th Street N, St. Peterburg Lubomir Sandov, 47, 600 Brookside Drive, Clearwater
Dave Gill is facing felony charges after complaints by an NBC10 viewer who bought a car at the lot he manages in Prospect Park. A used car manager is facing felony charges after the NBC10 Investigators looked into complaints that he tampered with the odometer on one of his Jeeps.
Four Sentenced in Federal Court in Odometer Fraud- Craigslist Crime Ring Investigation conducted by USDOT-NHTSA, Seattle PD, IRS-CID, WA Dept. Licensing Prosecution by USDOJ Consumer Protection Branch and United States Attorney Office-Seattle WA