Florida is revoking the titles of almost 400 cars imported from Japan on the gray market, which the state says were registered fraudulently.
A letter circulating on social media from the Florida Highway Patrol Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence says that the car’s titles are being revoked after an investigation uncovered numerous examples of cars being logged with authorities using documentation that incorrectly stated they complied with legal requirements.
“All vehicles identified in this investigation that have obtained fraudulent Florida titles will be ineligible for titling in Florida, regardless of any corrective measures taken,” the letter states. That’s bad news for the owners, but it gets worse for any of them thinking they can just sell their rides out of state to get out of a sticky fix and recover some cash.
“Furthermore, the United States Department of Homeland Security has notified the Florida Highway Patrol that all vehicles in this investigation that have had a Florida title canceled/revoked have been placed on a contraband list and would be ineligible for a title/registration in any state,” the letter continues.
The letter finishes by suggesting affected owners could export their cars from the country, keep them in non-operative condition, or surrender the vehicles to the nearest Port of Entry where they will be seized as contraband.
The investigation identified that several auto businesses, including Soho Alliance LLC, Soho Imports LLC, and J-Spec Garage LLC were engaged in fraudulently applying for vehicle titles in Florida between 2014 and 2020. Michael Satterfield from The Gentleman Racer dug into booking records and discovered that the companies are owned and operated by Andres Diaz and Nicole Chiong, both of whom have been charged with falsifying title documents but appear to have been renewed on bond pending trial.
Satterfield went through the list of no-no VINs, decoding them to reveal the affected cars, and came up with some interesting information. While the majority are JDM-spec cars such as R34 Nissan Skyline GT-Rs and S15 Nissan Silvia that would have been too modern to qualify for importation under the 25-year rule that makes importing non-federalized cars easier, a Mercedes C300 and Porsche 911 Turbo also make an appearance.
What would you do if you found your car on the Florida hit-list? Leave a comment and let us know.
H/T to The Gentleman Racer
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Keyword: Florida Revokes Titles Of Nearly 400 Illegally Imported Cars