The Arizona Department of Transportation is continuing its mission to prevent illegal vehicle sales and keep consumers from being taken advantage of, officials say.

Detectives within the department’s Office of Inspector General have reviewed about 3,000 used and wholesale dealer license holders to find potentially fraudulent activity among dealers who have little to no recent sales or have sales they are not licensed to make.

β€œIt’s believed that when a dealer’s license shows little to no activity, there could be fraudulent behavior occurring such a misusing dealer license plates, which can only be on certain dealer-owned vehicles,” ADOT said.

Arizona law says an individual may sell no more than six vehicles in 12 consecutive months without a dealer’s license. Also, dealers who attempt to sell vehicles in excess of what is permitted on their license are in violation of the law, which is an illegal practice called curbstoning.

These β€œcurbstoned” vehicles usually bring a lot of baggage with them such as title fraud, odometer fraud and covered-up flood damage.

The Downtown Links Project in Tucson will be a 4-lane road that parallels the Union Pacific Railroad and connects Barraza-Aviation Parkway at Broadway Road to Interstate 10 via St. Mary's Road. The expected completion date is early 2023. Video by: Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star (2020)

β€œConsumers in the market for used vehicles should do their homework before handing over any money,” the Arizona Department of Revenue said.

Officials are cutting down on these unlawful sales through the Arizona Curbstone Enforcement Joint Taskforce, consisting of ADOT, the department of revenue and Arizona Independent Automobile Dealers Association created in 2018.

The group has focused on identifying unlicensed auto dealers and those licensed dealers selling more than they are allowed and those selling vehicles away from their designated areas.

In February 2020, the task force brought down a β€œmajor criminal operation” involving seven suspects and tens of thousands of titles for vehicles sold in 42 states. It’s the largest crime found since the task force’s creation.

Individuals would subscribe to websites that obtained wholesale and retail dealer license credentials from the seven suspects, based in Eastern Arizona, instead of the state for a monthly fee costing in the hundreds of dollars.

The unlawful credentials allegedly allowed 1,500 individuals attend and bid on these vehicles at wholesale auctions in the various state locations, the department of revenue said.

The suspects also allegedly provided the service of altering vehicle titles from the subscribers for nearly $100 per title to give the appearance vehicles were bought from one of the suspects’ 31 operations with dealer licenses.

This operation took in about $7 million in two years, according to the Arizona Department of Revenue.

Each of the seven suspects face multiple charges, including the felonies of fraudulent schemes and artifices, money laundering and tax evasion.

In subsequent investigations, the task force has found dealership owners assigning dealer plates to personal vehicles and on vehicles of their close family members, which is done to skirt paying the registration and vehicle license tax on those vehicles.

β€œWe are asking used and wholesale dealers to please contact us if they receive a letter from the ADOT Office of Inspector General,” said Lt. James Warriner, who works within ADOT’s inspector general’s office. β€œThis is an effort to verify that they still want and intend to use their dealer license for the purpose of selling vehicles.”

If a dealer no longer needs the dealer license, then ADOT is available to help, Warriner said.

β€œIf a dealer license holder has found that they no longer want or need their license, they are always welcome to contact ADOT anytime to arrange to have their license canceled and all materials, including dealer license plates, turned in,” said Warriner. β€œWe are here to help protect the citizens of Arizona by ensuring they have the protections afforded them when purchasing a vehicle.”

Down the Road

Repair work for Pima County road: Crews will begin shoulder repair work on North Hacienda del Sol Road between River Road and Sunrise Drive from Wednesday, Jan. 13, to Friday, Jan. 15, between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Motorists should use caution and adhere to the reduced speeds and temporary closures as crews place materials starting at the south end of the project and work north to Sunrise Drive.


A look back at Tucson-area streets:


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Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com

On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1