Montana DOJ adds investigators to target vehicle theft and fraud

Three new Division of Criminal Investigation agents have been assigned to motor vehicle crimes as the Montana Department of Justice moves to confront theft and fraud that can hit buyers, dealers and anyone trying to register a car with a clean title. One of the investigators, Jason Saunders, was sworn in in Helena, and he identified more than $40 million in fraudulent vehicles that were retitled in Montana over the past two and a half years.

Title work already sends people through the county Motor Vehicle Department and, for some cases, to the state bureau at 302 North Roberts St. in Helena. County officials put title work at 15 to 20 minutes per transaction, with waits topping two hours during busy periods.

Saunders said many of the cases are not simple thefts. They involve finance fraud, fake or stolen IDs, dealership financing, defaults, re-VINing vehicles with new VIN labels and resale to consumers. Attorney General Austin Knudsen called the activity private property theft, and DCI Administrator Lee Johnson said the cases can also involve bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud. The department’s Investigations Bureau already handles complex financial crimes and consumer fraud when local, state or federal agencies ask for help.

A July 10, 2024 legislative briefing said the Motor Vehicle Division’s Vehicle Services Bureau had seen an increase in fraud over the previous 12 months, with bad actors using false titles to get vehicles into the National Motor Vehicle Titling System and move them into other states without raising red flags. The briefing also said fraudsters had shifted toward counterfeit Manufacturer Certificates of Origin, especially on high-end vehicles, and that the state had started quarterly reporting on incidents, open investigations, resolved cases and suspended dealer licenses.

The county no longer processes Break/Bond Titles, which now go through the state Vehicle Services Bureau in Helena, and the Montana Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Protection handles complaints involving new and used cars or trucks. The office has also warned Montanans about fraudulent texts impersonating the Motor Vehicle Division.