PebHmong Discussion Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: theking on December 27, 2024, 04:33:49 PM
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..Too bad for them though so hope they can learn from it. One FRAUD is one too many IMO so learn from their mistake PH folks:
Oregon City couple loses $45K unknowingly buying stolen truck from fake dealership
Oregon City police are working to solve a sophisticated crime with ties to Texas that left victims out tens of thousands of dollars. The suspects ripped off car buyers with a fraudulent car dealership and stolen cars.
“Everything we had we put into this vehicle and didn't expect to be scammed the way that we were,” April Correa said.
April’s husband, Jaime, found his dream truck on Facebook Marketplace in September. He got the seller down to $45,000 for the 2023 GMC and found the cash to get the truck.
“You said you thought it was a good deal. Did you ever think for a second, ‘Man, this is almost too good?’” KATU asked the Correas.
“When you first see the post on Marketplace, you think, ‘Oh, that's a great deal.’ There's got to be some kind of a catch, you know, because that's a that's a good price for this truck. It was still a little bit out of our budget, but it was a deal we didn't want to pass up,” April said.
The Correas said the car lot in Oregon City raised no red flags. April said they had paperwork up on the wall, a Better Business Bureau accreditation, and more.
“Everything seemed to check all the boxes, and it seemed like any dealership that we've ever been to,” April said.
The concern came later when Jaime needed the title.
“He called several times, and it was just going straight to voicemail. So, he decided he'd go back into the dealership,” April said.
“You pull up and what?” KATU asked Jaime.
“Nobody was there; the dealer was empty,” Jaime said.
They called Oregon City police right away. It turned out the vehicle identification number printed on a sticker in the truck, or VIN, was actually printed on a counterfeit sticker and was connected to another truck. The real VIN revealed the $80,000 truck was stolen near Dallas, Texas earlier this year.
April and Jaime had to give the truck to police.
“I asked him, I'm like, ‘Well, what does that mean for us? What does that mean? We've just paid $45,000 for this truck; what does that mean we're supposed to do at this point?' And he said, ‘I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your money is gone,’” April said.
They said the revelation nearly brought them to tears -- a dream purchase turned into a nightmare.
KATU Investigates reached out to the Oregon DMV, the agency that licenses car dealers. It confirmed the sales were not conducted by a licensed dealer.
“If the cars were not stolen, we can assist with tracking down titles and paperwork. However, if the cars were stolen, it becomes a criminal investigation with the police,” the agency said.
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First time for everything that the couples went through. I don't blame them. Scammers have the way of luring them in.