METRO DETROIT – The Michigan State Police Southeast Auto Theft Team is busy working to identify a man before he sell another stolen car to an unsuspecting person.
He's been selling nice vehicles such as Ford Explorers and GMC Yukons at great prices. The catch is the buyer doesn't know the vehicles are stolen and the title they get from him is fake.
Security photos show the man back in June at a Speedway gas station in Clinton Township. He sold a 2001 GMC Yukon for $2,400 in cash outside in the parking lot. When the buyer took the title to the Secretary of State to get it in their name, they found out the title was a fake and the sport utility vehicle was stolen.
Police took the vehicle, but the seller still has the cash.
"Somebody knows who he is already out there who maybe have dealt with him in the past or have worked with him before. So we do know that this is what the suspect looks like and we're hoping to get a tip off those photos," said Lt. Michael Shaw.
So far, three people in metro Detroit have been burned by this dirty deal. They found the vehicle ads on Craigslist and were attracted by the low price. In the ads, the seller makes it clear it's a cash-only deal.
The same fake title is linked to the $2,400 deal in Clinton Township. In April, someone lost $6,000 in cash when they bought a stolen 2007 Ford Explorer with a phony title down in Monroe.
In May, there was another cash deal with another 2007 Explorer. The SUV was stolen and the seller walked away with $8,000 in cash.