Staff at an Aurora Avenue car dealership hit the brakes on an ID thief’s attempt to scam his way into the driver’s seat of a $48,000 Chevy Camaro earlier this week.
On Tuesday, a suspect arrived at the dealership and attempted to purchase the vehicle, using what appeared to be a fake ID with mismatched signatures. He was unable to provide certain personal information during the attempted transaction, which employees found suspicious. Staff told the man he would need to return to the dealership with correct paperwork at a later date.
When the suspect left, dealership staff discovered the suspect had been posing as a 65-year-old Kitsap County man, who was undergoing a long-term stay in a hospital outside of Seattle. One of the man’s family members confirmed the hospitalized man was not involved in any vehicle purchase, and said he’d recently been the victim of mail theft and identity fraud. Dealership staff then contacted police.
On Thursday, the suspect returned to the dealership. Staff called police and officers and Major Crimes Taskforce detectives arrested the 40-year-old suspect. He was carrying ID and bank cards belonging to the 65-year-old victim.
Officers booked the man into the King County Jail for investigation of forgery and criminal impersonation.