MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office announced the results of Operation Credit Bust Out.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said the department was notified of fraud by legitimate car dealerships who began to notice a trend of these crooks making purchases with false documents and other peoples’ credit.
“Our task force has already uncovered more than $5 million in fraud, recovered dozens of vehicles and made 21 arrests,” said Cordero-Stutz.
In some cases, detectives said the crooks would purchase up to 20 vehicles at a time from legitimate dealerships in the span of a week. High end cars they would then sell on the street, but how did they do it?
“They produce fake documentation as to misrepresent their financial condition,” said MDSO Auto Theft Task Force Sergeant Luis Paz. “They can report themselves to be an owner of a company that they are truly not the owner of. They can give fake bank accounts; they can provide fake utility receipts to prove their residency. Obviously for credit, a consumer trade line to reflect full on your credit report it takes about 30 days.”
Their credit score was the least of their worries though, because by the time the credit bureau was notified, in some cases, they would then use someone else’s identity.
“When financial institutions lose millions, those cost are past down to families, to small businesses, to consumers in Miami- Dade County,” said Cordero-Stutz.
While detectives say more arrests are likely to follow, they are already working with dealerships and consumers to prevent this from happening in the future.
“We will not let organized criminals or corrupt insiders treat our county like an open marketplace,” said Cordero-Stutz.
Ultimately, the task force said it recovered 53 vehicles in the operation.
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
