A 35-year-old Bethalto, Ill., man sold a 2011 Dodge Ram on Dec. 4 outside a Eureka gas station, only to find out a couple of days later that he was the victim of a fraudulent vehicle-buying scheme that is being investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Eureka Police reported.
The Illinois man told Eureka Police officers he arranged to sell his pickup to a man on Dec. 4 in the parking lot of the Moto Mart gas station, 5695 Fox Creek Road, in Eureka. The buyer was described as a Hispanic man between 20 and 25 years old, 6-feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds, the report said.
The buyer gave the Illinois man a cashier’s check for about $33,000. The Illinois man told investigators the check appeared to be legitimate because of the water markings, according to the report.
However, the victim said the buyer was “acting nervous” during the transaction, which made the victim suspicious of him. The victim said he asked the buyer how he got to the gas station, and he said his brother drove him there, the report said.
The buyer then led the Illinois man to a black sedan without license plates, where the buyer’s brother reportedly was waiting. The Illinois man said a white man who appeared to be 20 to 25 years old was in the car and said he had taken the plates off the sedan, the police reported.
The man in the car showed the Illinois man a license plate, and the Illinois man wrote down the license plate number. He then completed the transaction with the buyer, signing over the title for the pickup to him, the report said.
Later, police learned the license plate the victim was shown had been reported stolen by the St. Louis Police, and the name the buyer had given for the title was false, according to the report.
On Dec. 6, the Illinois man was contacted by a second victim through Facebook, who said he had just purchased the Ram and the victim’s name was on the title. The Illinois man then contacted his bank and found out the cashier’s check he received for the pickup was fake, the police reported.
The Illinois man contacted Eureka Police on Dec. 7, and investigators were referred to the Missouri State Highway Patrol by the Illinois man’s insurance agency, Lt. Michael Werges said.
The Illinois State Police recovered the Ram in Quincy, Ill., getting it from the second victim who had reached out to the Illinois man on Facebook. The second victim told investigators he had purchased the pickup from a Hispanic man for $21,000, the report said.
The Ram was returned to the Illinois man, but the second victim’s money had not been recovered as of Dec. 17, Werges said.
He said Eureka Police forwarded the information to the Highway Patrol.
Anyone with information about the fraudulent vehicle buying scheme should contact the Highway Patrol at 573-526-6134.