TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and several other law enforcement agencies said a multi-year investigation yielded the arrest of more than 20 people as part of "Operation Gone in 60 Days."
In a Monday press conference, the FDLE laid out how a tip about the fraudulent sale of commercial driver's licenses led to the massive, five-year operation.
According to FDLE, during the fraudulent CDL investigation, investigators noticed that confidential informants kept showing up to the meetings in higher-end cars, and the vehicles always had temporary tags.
This detail sent investigators in a new direction that uncovered a large-scale car theft ring that used multiple methods to obtain vehicles and resell them.
FDLE said one such scheme would involve one person scouring online websites looking for high-end vehicles at smaller dealerships. A fraudulent check would be used to pay for the vehicle, which was then quickly picked up by someone involved in the fraud.
According to investigators, by the time the check was determined to be fraudulent, the car was already in Tampa and preparing to be resold. At this point, FDLE said a woman at a dealership in Miami would issue temporary tags for that vehicle while another person worked on fraudulent vehicle identification numbers (VIN).
The thieves would then drive the vehicle for 60 days when the temporary tag ran out and then sell the vehicle at a far cheaper price than the market value, FDLE said.
Another scam that was used involved the group renting vehicles from airports and other high-end areas, sending the vehicle down the same path. FDLE said another scheme involved the group buying the car legitimately but walking away from the deal and reporting the car as stolen. Then the car would be sold to another person.
The ringleader of the group also sold fake car insurance to some purchasers. He would "sell" the fake policies and pocket the money, with no actual insurance being sold, FDLE said.
Attorney General Ashley Moody praised the work of the multiple law enforcement agencies involved in the bus, which took approximately 12,000 man-hours of work. She also gave potential car buyers in Florida tips on how to avoid getting scammed.
- Verify the seller's name is on the car title
- Ask for the dealer's license if you're buying from a dealership
- Do your research and ensure that the dealer is reputable
- Check the car against the FDLE's stolen vehicle database
- Check the VIN on the door and the dash match
- Conduct the transaction at the DMV and allow the workers to examine the documents there
- If the price is too good to be true, it probably is
A total of 23 people involved in the scheme have been arrested, with two more arrests remaining to be completed.
Watch the full presser below.
