Columbus City Attorney's office files complaint against scrapyard for alleged fraud
The Columbus City Attorney's office has filed a public nuisance complaint against a South Side scrapyard after investigators found more than 80 alleged cases of fraud involving vehicle titles, stolen cars and parts.
In addition to declaring Columbus Auto Shredding a nuisance, the attorney's office also plans to ask Franklin County Municipal Court to impose strict requirements on staff at the facility to verify Ohio vehicle titles and to cease certain operations until the additional safeguards are implemented, according to a news release.
An investigation into the salvage dealer at 2181 Alum Creek Drive began in July when Groveport Police discovered that Columbus Auto Shredding was paying several towing companies for vehicles with Ohio titles that did not match up to the vehicles being scrapped. The facility was also allowing vehicles without proof of ownership to be junked.
The following month, a Bureau of Motor Vehicles investigator began reviewing several state vehicle titles submitted by the facility for junked vehicles. The investigation uncovered fraud and dozens of falsified and improper vehicle titles, according to the news release. BMV investigators also discovered Columbus Auto Shredding was counseled multiple times for failure to verify true and recent Ohio BMV records but did not comply.
The alleged cases of fraud include:
Seventeen titles that previously had been reported as stolen or lost by previous owners.
Sixteen titles listed company names as the owner of the vehicles, but representatives from those companies did not sign them.
Fifteen vehicles had titles that were missing the required notary.
Fifteen vehicles did not have the required labels for “junk” designation.
Eleven titles that did not match the legal owner/seller signatures, which were determined to be forged and falsified.
Three titles were signed by the wrong person.
“The City of Columbus has zero tolerance for criminal enterprises that moonlight as businesses," said City Attorney Zach Klein in the release. "Not here. Not ever. Businesses that perpetrate fraud and deal in stolen property will be held accountable, they will be prosecuted, and if necessary, they will be shut down."
A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 14 at 12 p.m.
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mwalker@dispatch.com
@micah_walker701
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus scrapyard headed to court due to alleged cases of fraud
