Latest news with #AhmedNjie
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
Florida Car Salesman Accused Of Washing Titles
Read the full story on The Auto Wire A Florid man was just hit with 21 criminal charges after authorities accused him of washing car titles. What's even more shocking is the same man was arrested in January and hit with 12 charges, also for washing car titles. But wait, there's man, 40-year-old Ahmed Njie, is a used car salesman. In other words, his victims weren't just buying vehicles from a random private party. If you thought you only had to worry about this kind of thing when not shopping at a dealership, think again. According to a report from Fox13 Tampa Bay, authorities believe Njie is part of a large criminal organization that's moving stolen cars, passing them off as legitimate and fooling shoppers. Authorities have been investigating Njie for about a year. He's now being held without a bond. Title washing is when someone changes the VIN on a car, then getting the vehicle re-titled so it has a fresh title with that fraudulent VIN. Oftentimes, they'll use a VIN from the same make, model, even paint color of a ride that's been totaled and is no longer on the road. With car theft rates still high, your chances of buying a stolen ride with a washed title is higher than most people would guess. When most people learn about this type of crime, they assume buying from a dealership will protect them. Sadly, it doesn't always go that way. While in this case we have a dealership employee who's accused of washing titles, sometimes dealers are victims of these crimes. We've seen dealerships buy stolen cars, not detect the title is a forgery, then resell the vehicle to a customer, who month or years later learns the horrible truth. One surefire way to guard against title washing scams is to check the VIN for a car on a location other than the dash or driver's door jamb. Different vehicles have those VINs stamped or etched into different locations, like on the engine block or frame. Scammers can't or won't change those VINs because they're harder to reach. Image via Fox 13 Tampa Bay/YouTube Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
Hillsborough car salesman accused of running ‘title washing scheme'
The Brief A Hillsborough County car salesman made an appearance in court after he was accused of running a "title washing' scheme. He's facing multiple charges, including selling or possessing a vehicle with altered numbers, forged motor vehicle title and grand theft of a motor vehicle. His bond was set at $85,000 for all 12 charges during his court appearance. TAMPA, Fla. - A Hillsborough County car salesman appeared in court on Thursday, accused of running a "title washing" scheme. Ahmed Njie, 40, is facing 12 charges, including selling or possessing a vehicle with altered numbers, forged motor vehicle title, and grand theft motor vehicle. READ: Human trafficking bust: 15 arrested, 1 rescued in week-long Hillsborough County operation Dig deeper "What makes [title washing] problematic is that you're taking the title of a vehicle, and you're essentially rewriting it," auto industry expert Michael Caudill said. "So scammers, what they will do is, they'll take a vehicle that has been in an accident, and they will wipe clean that title, then re-register that vehicle. And that essentially, when you run it through your Department of Motor Vehicles, it will show that there's been no accidents on it." Court documents accuse Njie of getting a fake title for a Range Rover that was reported stolen out ofLake City back in 2022. According to the search warrant by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Auto Theft Unit, "the vehicle was therefore confirmed to be re-VINed and fraudulently titled in the State of Florida." "If you look in most new cars today inside the windshield, right on the driver's side, the VIN number is listed right there," Caudill said of a vehicle's identification number (VIN). "They'll pop that VIN number off and put a different VIN number on of a similar make and model." Follow FOX 13 on YouTube According to the search warrant, investigators found "various photographs of stolen vehicles, fraudulent vehicle Certificate of Titles, fraudulent driver's licenses, fraudulent social security cards, (and) fraudulent VIN stickers." "The number one way that you're going to title wash a vehicle is that you're going to usually move it from state to state," Caudill said. The backstory In March 2024, Njie and his associates are accused of bringing a South Carolina title to the Plant City Tax Collector's Office in an attempt to re-title a Mercedes-Benz that had a lien on it. According to the criminal report affidavit, Njie is accused of financing the Mercedes-Benz under a fake name and then having his associate re-title the vehicle in Florida with a fake South Carolina title. "If successful, Ahmed Njie would have effectively "title-washed" the vehicle, thus clearing the lien, which exceeded $50,000 in payments still owed," the criminal report affidavit explained. MORE: Guns, drugs found in vehicle following chase in Polk County: FHP "Title security is complex," Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Tax Collector Jennifer Castro said. "Kind of like with any other official document: If there's criminals and bad actors, and they want to falsify a record to steal something, they're definitely going to try to do it." Plant City tax collector employees reached out to South Carolina officials, who told them the title was fake, court records show. "They are trained extensively on what to look for on documents and even behaviors of people who enter the office," Castro said. What's next On Thursday, Njie's defense attorneys asked the judge for a reasonable bond, explaining that their client "is employed as a car salesman and a business owner" with a wife and children, who live in the area. Bond was ultimately set at $85,000 for all 12 charges. What we don't know Court documents don't explain what Njie was doing with these re-titled vehicles. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said they would release more details at a later date. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app:Apple |Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
