A $245 Million Crypto Thief Bought 28 Supercars, and Car Dealer Money-Laundering Rules Never Applied
Malone Lam pleaded guilty to stealing $245 million in crypto and spent it on at least 28 exotic cars titled…
fraud
The Federal List of Truck Driving Schools Runs on the Honor System. Nobody Checks First.
A registered driving school told investigators its classroom was inside a school bus in the back of a trailer. It…
Hand a Dealer Your Supercar and the Law Lets Him Sell It, Even If That’s a Crime
A New York owner nearly lost a Lamborghini and $200,000 in a dealer upgrade scheme. The rule that almost cost…
Of Everything Stolen CDC Money Could Buy, the Harley-Davidson Was the Worst Possible Choice
A Danish researcher spent stolen federal grant money on a Harley-Davidson. Of everything he bought, the motorcycle was the one…
Toyota’s Paint-Warranty Program Got Robbed From the Inside. The Dealer Still Had to Pay Toyota Back $2.1 Million.
Somewhere in a Toyota service drive outside Boston, a claim gets typed into a warranty...
You Handed Your License to the Rental Car Counter for a Few Minutes. That Might Have Been All It Took.
Brian Krebs remembers the moment clearly enough. He and his mother stood at a Hertz...
Ford And Stellantis Sued The Same Dealer Over $18 Million. The Real Victim Just Traded In A Jeep
Ford Motor Credit and Stellantis Financial Services don’t agree on much. They compete for the...
Your Dealership’s ID Scanner Was Built To Catch Fraud. It Just Became Part Of The Biggest Identity Leak On Record.
Somewhere in a dealership finance office today, a customer will hand over a driver’s license...
A Minnesota Dealer Faked ‘Certified’ Used Cars for Years — Then Told the State He’s Too Broke to Pay Victims Back
Fridley, Minnesota, isn’t exactly the used-car capital of the world. But a small independent lot...
An Iowa Dealer Allegedly Financed the Same Cars Twice — Stellantis Just Won $5.5 Million By Default
Winning a lawsuit and actually getting paid are two very different things, and Stellantis just...
Why Steal a Car When You Can Just Finance One and Ship It Overseas?
Nobody broke a window. Nobody hot-wired an ignition. Nobody even needed a stolen key fob....
Six Defendants Allegedly Stole $4 Million in Rental Cars. The Going Rate Was $2,000 Each.
Six defendants are accused of taking about 150 rental cars worth more than $4 million with forged licenses and stolen…
Tricolor Raised $1.9 Billion on Subprime Car Loans. The SEC Says Its Execs Pledged the Same Ones Twice
The SEC says Tricolor's top executives pledged the same subprime car loans to more than one Wall Street bond deal.…
31 Felony Charges Later, Georgia’s Tag Office Has One Very Awkward Question: Who Else Has Her Login?
Every title-fraud story The Auto Wire has covered shares one plot point: someone had to...
Cops Called Him ‘The World’s Worst Businessman.’ His Tesla Fraud Ring Still Made More Sense Than You’d Think
Daytona Beach police arrested two men last week over what they’re calling a multi-state Tesla...