The Expert Podcast

Here's another example of how vehicle titles are ripe for fraud: anytime you have somebody who's trying to do something that's not quite legal or a loophole or some kind of backdoor method, it's going to come back and bite you.

Here's a story about a clerk at a title agency who was arrested for processing $3 million of fraudulent titles. What she was doing was filing fake paperwork—false paperwork—to get titles for vehicles that some of her partners in crime allegedly were getting for cars that they weren't supposed to have. They were buying these cars without titles, they were getting these cars with no titles, and they were having this title scam to get them titles from the DMV—official titles that were improper.

And you know, getting a title for a vehicle is like getting a certificate; it's a document, but it's more than just a piece of paper; it represents the value of that vehicle. So even if you have a vehicle that's worth $10,000, that title is like a $10,000 check. Whoever has it in their name owns that vehicle now. So if you can find a way to scam your way into getting a title, you now have a free car. And if it's done improperly, eventually it's going to catch up to you. And this is a perfectly good example.

This scam allegedly went on for years. This person now has 36 felony charges, a multi-million dollar scheme, and dozens of stolen vehicles. What's going to happen is that all those titles will be revoked, and anybody else involved in the process is going to be prosecuted. So make sure if you're getting a title for a vehicle, you're using a proper method of getting a title, and you're not doing something illegal. And if somebody else is doing the method for you, make sure you understand it, that you know what's being done, and that it is legal. A lot of methods of getting a title are illegal, and it's going to eventually, you know, bite you in the foot if it turns out that you got a title under those circumstances. So it happens, and people are being prosecuted for it. Make sure you're aware of how your title's being obtained.

And look, if it's your car, you deserve to have a title, and there's a way to do it. It might take a little more work to do it the right way, but you're not going to run into legal or financial problems down the road.