Like taxis before them, rental automotive corporations are having to contend with the app services revolution. There are numerous corporations now that permit the renter simply select a automotive on an app, after which the owner of that automotive just delivers it to them to rent for a couple of days. There’s only one thing though — the normal rental automotive corporations all actually own the cars that they rent out, while these people offering their rides through an app? Perhaps not a lot.
Arizona’s Vehicle Theft Task Force recently busted a automotive theft operation with a contemporary twist. The culprits, as an alternative of selling their stolen goods to a buyer or simply parting it out at a chop shop, decided to only rent them out via Turo, an app-based rental service. Per Arizona’s Family, the bad guys would jack the cars from California and other states, drive them into Arizona, after which swap out the VIN numbers and get them re-registered. The latter was apparently an inside job, as considered one of the duty force’s arrests was of somebody who worked for the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division.
The nefarious plot to rent out some cars
To their credit, the thieves did have good taste. They went for the great things: Aston Martins, BMWs, Corvettes, Mercedes G-Wagens, and even a Rolls-Royce were amongst the spoils. Once their VIN numbers had been modified, the cars were then listed on Turo under the name they selected for his or her front company, AAA Luxury Automobile Rental, which I can only assume just barely won out over “Lol We Stole Them All.” Ever rented a very nice automotive on Turo in Phoenix? You would possibly have been driving a stolen automotive.
In all, the VTTF recovered 29 cars value around $2.5 million after surrounding the culprits’ house and giving them the classic, “Come to the front door along with your hands up!” Once the cops had searched the place, additionally they found a stash of money and guns, which I do not think most automotive rental corporations would have. Further investigation revealed that the cash they were making went to bank accounts within the U.S., Mexico, and Middle East, indicating that this was a small a part of a much larger international crime ring, possibly including cartel activity.
In all, the bad guys earned around $160,000 from the scheme, which is just about all profit because the cars were, well, free. Nonetheless, is $160,000 value whatever jail time they’re about to do? Probably not. For its part, Turo itself told Arizona’s Family that “criminal activity is incredibly rare” on its platform. That is great, but… how would they know?
This Article First Appeared At www.jalopnik.com
