A man in San Antonio, Texas is accused of running two different yet curiously creative scams in an attempt to fraudulently buy two cars with a combined value of $811,000. We’re sure the guy thought he was a big genius at the time, and maybe his schemes would’ve worked a while ago, but at least some dealerships seem to be far more cautious than before.
Car thieves claim YouTube taught them everything they know.
Blame it on all the fraud that’s been everywhere in the past few years, with quite a few dealerships taking it on the nose after selling cars and accepting fake cashier’s checks, etc.
Per News4 San Antonio, 43-year-old Justice Brown is accused of trying to buy a Ferrari after selecting one in person, then later texting a fake Wells Fargo Cashier’s Check to the salesperson. We don’t think we’ve seen this scam before, but to text a cashier’s check is odd and should set off red flags.
That salesperson, having not been born yesterday, let his supervisor know and police were called. After investigators staked out the dealership to catch Brown, the man probably sensed something was wrong and so refused to return in person.
That’s when police started contacting all the luxury dealers in the area to warn them. When they did, management at Mercedes-Benz of San Antonio told them Brown was attempting to buy a 2024 BMW M8 Competition Coupe using another weird scheme.
This time, Brown allegedly promised a wire transfer to the dealership in the amount of $166,970. He went to a Wells Fargo branch and deposited a check for the exact amount, then texted a picture of the deposit receipt to the salesperson so they would let him take delivery of the pricey car.
Again, thankfully the dealership employees weren’t born yesterday. They told Brown he had to wait 10 business days for the wire transfer to clear completely. This should become a standard practice at dealers because bad cashier’s checks and wire transfers seem to be somewhat common.
Brown eventually got arrested and is being held in jail. All dealerships in San Antonio should breathe a sigh of relief while also realizing someone like him could be trying to scam them right now.
Photo via Bexar County Jail/News4 San Antonio
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