Odometer Fraud 2.0

I'll start the week after purchase:

That first week was tough. We contacted a lawyer, who said we needed to get as much info about the seller and the vehicle as possible. He also said that even if we took him to court and the judge sided in our favor, we could have problems collecting from the "seller."

We contacted the OregonDMV and they were all but useless. We contacted the Oregon state policy and they were even less useless. We then called the Department of Transportation- fraud division, sent them an email and left a message.

Since we could get any help, we did some of our own private investigating. I know some people who know some people, so I was able to find out all the information I needed on the "seller." We then tried to contact the most recent owner, and that was a major pain in the @$$!! We ended up finding the PO's wife's info on the Internet and contacted her through her work. Talked with the PO and he not only verified the actual mileage, but had the Bill of Sale from when he had sold it 3 weeks prior, as well as all the maintenance records (truck has been well maintained). This was the first real progress we had made.

The next Monday we got a call back from the dept of Trans, and they were a HUGE help. Sent as a ton of info, who to contact, steps to take, what we could expect in recourse, etc. they advised us to contact the FBI because it is a federal crime. FBI required us to go back to the state police and get a case number from them, and then they would "look at it more."
 
Contacted the State police again and explained to them the situation with the FBI. The forwarded us to a detective who seemed very willing to help us. Gave him all the info on the "seller" and described the transaction and other things I noticed during said transaction that motivated him to want to investigate. That was on a Friday. The detective said he was going to drive by the "sellers" house and do whatever it is detectives do...

and that was all the help we got from him.

Contacted the Dept of Trans the following week and talked with them some more. Because they only have a handful of people in their office, they are very picky about the cases they choose to investigate. Again, the lady we spoke with was very helpful and gave us great advice. They were currently on a deadline with another case, but she said she would look into the "sellers" history and give us more info after the weekend...

...and then we never heard from her.

Fast forward to this past week: we had been trying to get in contact with the detective for a week, which wasn't easy. Once we did, he told us he was going to get with the DA that Day and have an answer for us if they were going to investigate it or not...

....never heard back from him.
 
Which brings us to today. It has been 3 weeks and some change since the purchase. We've gone from feeling hopeless, to hopeful, to ecstatic, and back. Since we already had all the info we'd need to take the "seller" to court, I decided to send him a message:

"It's been 3 weeks since I bought "your" 4Runner. In that time I have spoken with your local police, the Oregon Department of motor vehicles, the FBI, and the U.S. department of transportation as well as my lawyer and the actual previous owners of the 4Runner. The previous owners gave me all of your information including the Bill of Sale from your transaction that showed the actual mileage of the car. I then gave that Info to all 4 agencies. The Department of Transportation was able to pull up the original ad of the 4Runner, as well as all the other ads for cars you have sold. I've waited this long to contact you because I wanted to have everything in place before we spoke. My lawyer has advised that we try to work this out between the two of us rather than taking legal action. The way I see it, we have three options. Option 1: you come to Utah and buy the 4Runner back from me for $6200. Option 2: you wire me the difference that you paid ($2200. Previous owner confirmed you paid $4k). Option 3: my lawyer files the paperwork with the Oregon federal court, and we press charges. The Department of transportation has advised that we can expect an award in the range of $15-25k as well as keeping the car. The punishment would also be a Class C felony. Obviously that would be a drawn out process, and while I was very angry with what you did, I don't think that kind of punishment would benefit you. Talk to your family and see what you want to do, and give me a call later tonight or tomorrow."
 
Now, for the best part. His response:

"I sold the 4runner for family, i did nothing wrong at all.... I will contact a lawyer if needed but it was a legitimate transaction and i dont appreciate your threats... I did everything you requested and it's out of my hands now. Enjoy your vehicle!!!!"

Either he doesn't think I'm serious, or he just doesn't care. No matter, gonna give the Detective and the Dept of Trans another call tomorrow, and then we'll be talking with the lawyer.
 
OK. so option three it is!

Now go do your worst...For the sake of humanity, This scumbag needs a comeuppance!

:popcorn:
 
Yeah keep us updated. If you were told you can expect 15k-25k in damages from him then I would go that route at this point. That's a lot of money and it will teach him to not mess around with things like this. He needs to learn his lesson. I'm sure you're not the only person he has done this to before... Plus with all that money you could build an amazing 3rd gen haha.
 
Unner said:
Yeah keep us updated. If you were told you can expect 15k-25k in damages from him then I would go that route at this point. That's a lot of money and it will teach him to not mess around with things like this. He needs to learn his lesson. I'm sure you're not the only person he has done this to before... Plus with all that money you could build an amazing 3rd gen haha.
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For real, it's a lot of [emoji383][emoji383]. It's one thing to be awarded it, but another to actually collect it. I'll also probably be out 3-5k in lawyer fees
 
McFinnigan said:
For real. It's one thing to be awarded it, but another to actually collect it. I'll also probably be out 3-5k in lawyer fees
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True. I have grown somewhat synical myself by the mindset of "you can't get blood out of a turnip" suggesting he's likely broke and incapable of paying, but personally the regret of not pursuing the ******* that robbed me blind (in another way) eats at me. If I could do it over again I'd use every resource available to crush that thieving mother***ker.
This was a different situation and sum of money but I felt like I should chime in. His business practices are outright theft. He should pay dearly.
Good luck.
 
Very interesting... I imagine he doesn't think you're serious.

Hoping it works out for you! Things are looking good.
 
There are ways of collecting: liens, garnishment, seizure of assets (like every time he posts a vehicle for sale). In all, it's likely to be more hassle than it's worth, but sometimes you just need to go to the mattresses and carve out a little justice for the world.

If he realizes you're serious, there's a good chance he'll figure out that it'll cost him a hell of a lot less to pay you $2200 than to pay an attorney to defend him, even if he were to win.
 
McFinnigan said:
For real, it's a lot of [emoji383][emoji383]. It's one thing to be awarded it, but another to actually collect it. I'll also probably be out 3-5k in lawyer fees
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He probably knows this and figures because of that, you're bluffing.

Subscribing....
 
OP

Dude the same thing happened to me in FL. I called the cops. Turns out after searching his phone number on craigslist he had a bunch of low millage cars for sale.
Long story short.
We were able to prove a case ( the cops wanted no part of it til my wife did all the detective work for them). They arrested him and charged him with 3 crimes.
1. Odometer fraud.
2. Acting as a dealer but not having a dealer licence.
3. Grand theft, for not paying the sales tax when he bought it form the original owner.

Because he had no record they offered him a deal, probation plus restitution.
It took over a year but about 5 months ago I started receiving a check in the mail from the Florida dept of corrections for $163.00. He has 18 total total payments to make. So far he has made the first 5.

I cant believe our justice system actually worked in this case. My tax dollars did not have to pay for his room and board at the free motel, and I will hopefully get paid back the 3K I lost to the odometer fraud.

I too felt like the dumbest guy on the planet. Before this I had bought and sold a few cars on craigslist with no problems. I used to think I was a pretty good judge of character too. This guy totally fooled me. he had a lie thought up for every question and would tell it to me while looking me in the eye and with a smile on his face.
I too had a carfax but I was looking at on my phone and did not catch the date the millage stop being recorded. If I had of taken a closer look it showed only 10k miles in the last 5 years.
 
People like this are just scum sucking bottom feeders bro.

Sorry you got ripped off.

Just remember - Karma is a b_tch and she doesn't forget. This guy will get what he has given back in return.

Live and learn and let it be a learning experience for you.
 
McFinnigan, I got some respect for you. You gave the guy a chance to correct his wrongs. The email he sent you back was all kinds of messed up. I hope you fry his A$$. He politely gave you the finger with what he said when he KNOWS he is wrong. WTF is wrong with some people?
 
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