CARFAX® Case Files Fairfax County Police Department

SITUATIONOn January 21, 2015, CARFAX notified Fairfax County of a Porsche Panamera with a suspicious VIN. The vehicle was registered in Fairfax in December of 2014 showing a prior history in Minnesota. The Minnesota DMV stated that the vehicle had originated in Virginia and noted the purchase price. CARFAX, using data from a variety of sources, was able to conclude that the vehicle with that VIN number had no history in Virginia whatsoever. A representative from CARFAX also noted that all 2012 Porsche Panamera VIN numbers ended in the same six digits. The vehicle in question had a VIN number with numbers that were not consistent with Porsche Panameras of the same year.

Further investigation revealed that the vehicle had been serviced at a local Shell station where a mechanic noted that the VIN didn’t match the OBD (on-board diagnostics) VIN. The Fairfax County Auto Theft Squad visited the address listed on the vehicle’s registration and found that it was actually a fake address.

On February 19, 2015, the Maple Shade Police Department contacted the Fairfax County Police Auto Theft Squad about a long distance sleeper tractor which was purchased in their jurisdiction under a false identity. Further investigation revealed that the suspect applied for a loan with the stolen identity and purchased the truck for $71,000 from a trucking company in New Jersey. The company was notified about the fraudulent purchase and contacted the local police department immediately. When the suspect arrived to pick up his fraudulently purchased truck, he was arrested and taken into police custody.

STRATEGYThe suspect cooperated with police and explained that he was hired by the actual buyer of the vehicle to pick it up and deliver it to a Springfield, VA address. The suspect had already completely a previous delivery for the same individual in November 2014, delivering a $75,000 truck to the same location. Police conducted surveillance in the Springfield area where the truck was supposed to be delivered. The individual who purchased the vehicle called the driver and instructed him to deliver the truck to a Shell gas station nearby instead. Police drove to the Shell station and met the suspect who may have actually purchased the vehicle. He drove a gray Mercedes Benz SLS AMG and spoke with the officers briefly. Unfortunately, the officers were unable to positively identify him as the buyer at that time. After the police left, the buyer contacted his driver to inform him that he spoke with the police.

The driver, continuing to cooperate with the police, provided them with the Amtrak ticket he used to get to New Jersey to pick up the vehicle. The ticket was purchased with a credit card belonging to a gentleman who had been spotted with surveillance cameras at the UPS store in Annandale where he went to notarize some falsified documents. A digital photo was presented to the police officers who had contacted the suspect at the Shell station. The suspect was positively identified as the buyer of the original tractor.

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CARFAX® Case Files Oxnard Police Department

ACTION & RESULTSFurther investigation revealed that that same buyer frequented the aforementioned Springfield, VA location regularly. The Fairfax County Auto Theft Squad monitored the location and observed both a grey Porsche Panamera as well as the grey Mercedes Benz he was seen driving at the Shell station. A GPS search warrant was issued for the 2012 Mercedes Benz on February 28, 2015. During the search, police determined that both vehicles had been stolen and re-plated.

In total three stolen vehicles were recovered as a result of a suspicious VIN reported by CARFAX. Without CARFAX, the Fairfax County Police Department would not have been able to locate any of the vehicles nor would they have been able to arrest the person responsible.

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