At least nine loans valued at nearly $1 million were allegedly financed by a local company for vehicles that do not exist.
The discovery was made by an employee of the finance company who resigned because his boss did not pursue the matter with the vigour he believed should have accompanied the disclosure.
The scam involved vehicles valued at between $90 000 to $110 000, and people who fronted for the scammer. Those individuals had to be earning enough to qualify for a loan where repayment would be up to $1 600.
A source explaining how the illegal enterprise worked, said that a valuation would be done with a fictitious vehicle with chassis and engine numbers taken from an international database. Then the fictitious vehicle would be licensed and insured. This documentation would then be taken to the finance company where a loan would be secured for the purchase of the vehicle.
Loans officers do not normally look at vehicles or check for engine and chassis numbers, it was explained. They rely on the paperwork presented to them as it would have passed through the hands of supposedly reputable people responsible for doing valuations and licensing. The insurance companies likewise depend on the authenticity of this paperwork brought before them.
