A man identified as Sebastian Flores was taken into custody following an investigation into a suspected vehicle fraud operation. Flores was detained in Corona, California, after he was exposed by a victim of his scheme. The victim had initially identified a vehicle for sale on Craigslist and after apparent verification of legitimate DMV documents, had paid Flores $23,000 for the car. Only later did they realize that the registration documents provided for the vehicle were counterfeit.
Detectives revealed that Flores had orchestrated the fraud by renting vehicles through the car-sharing platform Turo and fabricating the vehicles title. Aided by law enforcement, the victim successfully arranged a meeting with Flores under the guise of a prospective buyer, which led to Floress arrest. Notably, at the time of apprehension, Flores was attempting to illegally sell another vehicle.
Subsequent checks established that Flores had an outstanding felony warrant for conspiracy and auto theft. Moreover, inside the vehicle occupied by Flores, authorities found evidence of forged documents. An additional arrest was made at the scene. The second individual, Lasso Floris, attempted to flee but was stopped. Floris was found to have a felony warrant for trafficking stolen vehicles.
Both Flores and Floris were taken to the Corona Police Department and charged with multiple felonies, including conspiracy, auto theft, and fraud. According to police sources, both individuals have extensive criminal records for similar offenses and investigators believe there may be additional victims of their fraudulent activities. Authorities urged any other victims to come forward and contact their local law enforcement agency. Additionally, the police advised the public to always authenticate vehicle documentation with the DMV before concluding any transactions.
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