21-02-2025
Hillsborough man arrested in ‘title-washing scheme' facing more charges
The Brief
A Hillsborough County man is facing more charges related to a "title-washing scheme."
He was previously arrested in January on 12 separate charges, also related to vehicle fraud.
While investigators say Njie's case is unique, they urge anyone buying a used car to do their due diligence, because stolen cars are often resold.
TAMPA, Fla. - A Hillsborough County man is facing more charges related to a "title-washing scheme."
On Tuesday, Ahmed Njie, 40, was arrested and is facing 21 charges, including selling or possessing a vehicle with altered numbers, forged motor vehicle title and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
Three weeks ago, FOX 13 reported his January arrest on 12 charges.
READ: Hillsborough car salesman accused of running 'title washing scheme'
The backstory
"We believe this is a pretty large enterprise essentially," Kathryn Bonti, lead trial attorney for the Hillsborough State Attorney's office economic crimes unit, said.
According to court documents, Njie is accused of changing the VIN numbers on vehicles and then re-titling them in different states. A new title erases the vehicle's history, which opens the door for resale. This is known as "title-washing," experts say.
"In some of the other cases, we see that he is actually defrauding victims in purchasing these vehicles. So what we think – which we can't say for sure because we're not clear exactly – but the game is to return a large profit from these potentially stolen vehicles," Bonti said.
Dig deeper
Court documents accuse Njie of getting a fake title for a Range Rover that was reported stolen out of Lake City back in 2022.
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"We're seeing that he has moved close to 10 to 20 vehicles, some of them being $85,000 to $100,000 for an individual vehicle," Bonti added.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Auto Theft Unit started investigating Njie and his associates last March when they tried to re-title a Mercedes-Benz with a lien in Plant City.
A new title means there's no lien, so no outstanding payments are owed.
"This case is unique -- the fact that this suspect did this type of activity so many times," Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Carolina Montelongo said.
Big picture view
The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office is currently investigating other title-washing cases in the Bay Area.
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They encourage anyone buying a used car to double-check the car's original VIN number, which can be permanently etched in places scammers might overlook.
"They could be hidden in the trunk. They could be hidden underneath the carrier of the vehicle itself. I know that may be difficult to do when you're at, maybe, a public area, but those are the things you just want to be careful with when you're purchasing these vehicles," Bonti told FOX 13. "Because, down the road, you could find out that this car was stolen."
What's next
After his latest arrest, Njie appeared in court on Wednesday, where his public defender didn't say anything except to answer one yes/no question from the judge.
The 40-year-old is being held without bond.
At Njie's court appearance three weeks ago in January, his attorney told the court that he is employed as a "car salesman and a business owner."
The Source
FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia collected the information in this story.
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