- Investigators say forged documents were used to obtain Wyoming vehicle titles.
- One title application allegedly contained the signature of a deceased owner.
- Authorities believe the scheme helped salvage vehicles return to the market.
Buying a new car sometimes comes with the hassle of scams and shady dealer tactics. Sadly, the used-car market has just as many concerns, and one dealer out of Utah makes that all too clear. According to authorities, The Good Car Dealer used forged signatures, fake notary stamps, and fraudulent paperwork to transform hail-damaged cars into far more valuable inventory. If the allegations are true, this wasn’t just a bit of mismanaged paperwork. It was a comprehensive effort to sidestep buyer protections.
According to court records first brought to light by Cowboy State Daily, Scott Keith Pryor, owner of Salt Lake City’s The Good Car Dealer, now faces 15 felony counts related to the alleged falsification, alteration, forgery, or counterfeiting of vehicle title documents. A Laramie County judge found probable cause for an arrest warrant on June 4. Each charge carries a potential penalty of up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Read: Nissan To Pay Ex-Dealer $256 Million For Fraud
Police only spotted this potential fraud after noticing duplicate title applications tied to vehicles damaged in a massive hailstorm in August last year. Those vehicles had reportedly been purchased through Copart auctions after insurers took possession of them following claims. In total, he bought some 292 vehicles worth nearly $2 million at auction, but 15 are at the center of the case. This is where the sketchy paperwork begins to show up in ways that leave plenty of questions authorities want answered.
Title Washing
Investigators allege Pryor submitted duplicate title applications, claiming the original titles had been lost. One application allegedly bore the signature of a Wyoming woman who died weeks before the hailstorm even occurred. Several notaries later told investigators that neither the signatures nor stamps on the documents belonged to them, while multiple vehicle owners reportedly denied signing any title paperwork.
Pryor told investigators he used a company called Tennessee Titles, which he allegedly discovered through Facebook, paying roughly $150 per application. The people behind the operation were identified only as “Rashard” and “Miss Catherine.” Investigators say Pryor could not provide records proving the company’s legitimacy or evidence of payments. All of this leads to where buyers get hurt the worst.
WYDOT investigator Shane Fox alleges that Pryor used the scheme to sell these hail-damaged vehicles as though they had clean non-salvage titles. It’s unclear if any of the buyers of the vehicles in question will be made whole or what the state plans to do with each, as they could be considered evidence in the case against Pryor. Carscoops has reached out to WYDOT for more information.
