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A Livermore man has been arrested for allegedly running a scam in which he sold stolen vehicles with swapped out identification numbers to further trick unsuspecting buyers.
The California Highway Patrol’s Golden Gate Division announced a break in the case on Monday, saying that weeks of surveillance led to a search of the suspect’s house in Livermore and the recovery of three stolen cars.
“The sale of used vehicles between private parties is common in California, but the CHP wants to remind buyers to remember that if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is,” CHP officials said in a press release.
“Operations like this will bring stolen vehicles from other states into California, where their identification numbers are switched and sold to unsuspecting buyers,” officials added. “When the new owner attempts to register the vehicle, they soon discover the truth. As most of these transactions are cash only, the buyer is left with nothing and the seller cannot be contacted.”
According to the CHP, its Northern Foreign Export and Recovery (NoFEAR) team was alerted in July about a recently registered vehicle that presented inconsistencies with the state’s registration process. Investigators soon learned that the car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) did not match the car and had likely been switched to hide the fact it was stolen.
The NoFEAR team soon identified a prime suspect, placed him under surveillance and secured search warrants for the man’s residence in Livermore, according to the CHP. At the home, investigators allegedly found additional stolen vehicles whose VINs had been swapped out for false ones.
Officers reported taking the man into custody, but they declined to release his name as of Monday, citing the ongoing nature of their investigation.
