LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Police with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles said they arrested a Las Vegas man who allegedly sold a stolen vehicle online.
Chad Anthony Livingston-Cook, 23, was apprehended without incident on August 26. He allegedly listed the car, a 2015 Mercedes Benz C300, on OfferUp and sold it for $14,000 cash to an out-of-state buyer at a local casino.
The buyer then returned to New Mexico, only to learn from that state’s DMV that the vehicle was carrying a fake title.
Investigators say Livingston-Cook communicated with the victim through OfferUp and later by text message, allowing Nevada DMV officers to link him to the unsuspecting buyer.
Following a weeks-long investigation, officers allege that an accomplice of Livingston-Cook’s fraudulently obtained credit from an unrelated second victim to purchase the vehicle at a local dealership before it was listed on OfferUp.
Investigators were also able to tie Livingston-Cook’s phone number to the fraudulent credit application, though Livingston-Cook refused to identify any co-conspirators.
The arrest is the second made in August by DMV officers pursuing a fraudulent online vehicle sale. Compliance Enforcement Division Chief J.D. Decker said consumers should be especially cautious about such transactions.
“Buyers should beware of individuals who are offering vehicles for discounted prices but demanding cash,” Decker said. “Private party sales are particularly risky for consumers.”
Decker said his division sees as many as 10 cases per month that result in victims being defrauded out of cash paid to scammers for a stolen or fraudulently obtained vehicle.
Livingston-Cook was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on four felony charges and one gross misdemeanor, including the unlawful transfer of interest in a motor vehicle. Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a fraudulent vehicle sales scam is urged to contact the DMV’s Compliance Enforcement Division at 702-486-8626 or dmv.nv.gov/ced.htm.
