Nevada DMV Enforcement cracks down on stolen luxury cars sold openly on social media

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Nevada DMV Compliance Enforcement Division is cracking down on stolen luxury cars being openly sold on social media, with criminals listing them using code words and asking as little as a tenth of the normal price.

In one case, a 2021 Hellcat TRX was advertised for $12,000. The vehicle normally sells for at least $100,000.

In an ad for the high-end truck on Facebook, the first word of the description said “lien.”

“It’s pretty blatant. I mean, it’s like advertising drugs for sale online on a public website,” said JD Decker, chief of Nevada DMV’s Compliance Enforcement Division.

Decker said the word is code for stolen.

“You won’t be able to register it or title it in your name… therefore the discounted price,” Decker said.

Investigation leads to recovery

Decker’s team tracked down the truck in the city of Las Vegas.

“We found the vehicle had been stolen locally and then wrapped to hide the color and mask the vehicle,” Decker said.

There were other signs the vehicle was stolen. The person pulled out the module from under the dash and started it by hot wire, touching the wires together. The VIN was not centered and was not a stamped manufactured VIN. The VIN also had 16 digits instead of the standard 17. A fake temporary tag was also used.

The team got a warrant to arrest the seller, though they say he fled the state.

“That subject had his first court appearance and had an attorney appear on his behalf. We know he operated between a couple different states. He had previous charges in a couple different states,” Decker said.

Decker said these openly stolen cars advertised for sale are known as striker vehicles.

“When you’re selling a striker vehicle to someone who knows it’s stolen, you really don’t have to make much effort to hide the fact that it’s stolen because that’s kind of assumed in the transaction,” Decker said.

There are also websites that will advertise and sell striker vehicles. According to Decker, the negotiation takes place on offshore encrypted websites that aren’t subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

If you ever have doubts about a vehicle you want to buy, have the seller meet you at the DMV’s VIN inspection station.

“We’d be happy to do that. It’s free. There’s generally no waiting. And if the vehicle comes from out of state, it’s going to require a VIN inspection at DMV anyway,” Decker said.

Decker said his team is constantly on social media looking for stolen vehicles for sale, especially high-end vehicles. He said the ongoing problem with fake tags contributes to this problem. FOX5 has previously reported on that problem