The general manager of a local used car dealership says his company is out hundreds of thousands of dollars after falling victim to a sophisticated criminal scheme.
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At Auto Barn LLC in Newnan, there is no shortage of luxury vehicles. But last summer, the used car dealership became the victim of a nationwide scam.
General manager Travis Payne told Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that it all started when his company purchased this $270,000 Rolls Royce SUV from a company in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Payne says they set up the transport to pick up the SUV from the dealership. But when it didn’t arrive in Georgia, Payne got concerned and reached out.
A salesperson sent him this document showing that it was picked up by a transportation company. But it showed that there’s no name under the receiver, and the intended destination is California - not Georgia.
“Why was my car released to someone who didn’t have my name?” Payne said.
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Payne says he filed a police report and then launched his own investigation.
He quickly traced the stolen SUV to a dealership in Mexico, but it would take time before he determined how the thieves were able to pull off this heist.
“It turns out it was part of the double brokering routine,” Payne said.
Payne says it has become a common practice in the transport world, and what these thieves are doing could also impact anyone when it comes to shipping cars.
He says the double brokering routine starts with bad actors contacting transport companies that have gone out of business. They buy their motor carrier number, which allows them to transport items across state lines.
Then they will take that number and form a new company in a different state, using their new number to set up a new account with central dispatch.
From there, the cars are driven to a location where the criminals are waiting.
Payne says he filed a police report and used social media to track his SUV to a dealership in Mexico.
He said he’s been in contact with the dealership, but they haven’t cooperated with him and actually sold it to someone who has been posting it on social media.
Seiden also reached out to the dealership in Arizona to find out why they released it without verifying the transport company. They have not yet responded.
The FBI would not confirm if it is investigating this specific case, but a spokesperson acknowledged that investigators are familiar with this type of criminal operation and ask anyone who believes they are a victim or has information to contact them.
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