An El Paso man has been cheated out of $34,000, hard-earned money he paid for a truck that turned out to have been stolen out of Houston.
As part of the Tarrant County Regional Auto Crimes Task Force, White Settlement police investigated and found out the thieves swapped out the vehicle identification number (VIN) to make it appear legitimate and even created a Texas title that looked authentic, but in the end was determined to be fake.
Police say the bogus ad originated on Facebook marketplace and investigators say it had many red flags.
Police learned the El Paso man had driven all the way to Arlington to pay cash for the pick-up truck. But when he went to register it, long after the seller had departed, the victim learned the truck was stolen and police were obligated to return it to its rightful owner.
So, the El Paso man was out the cash and did not receive the truck.
White Settlement police say they hope they can track the bogus seller down who met the victim in Arlington to conduct the fraudulent transaction.
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