Local and state officials have filed charges against 16 people allegedly connected to a fraud ring that targeted accident victims in Los Angeles, California. The ring would reportedly send a tow truck to the scene of an accident, haul off the wrecked car, and essentially hold it hostage until the owner paid a substantial amount of money to release it. Scams involving drivers are common, but this plot is more elaborate thanks to the alleged involvement of a corrupt California Highway Patrol employee.
The scam, which law enforcement officials say has become prevalent in Southern California, starts with an accident. Someone hits you (or vice versa), you pull off to the shoulder, and a tow truck immediately shows up offering help. Confused and a little shaken up, you say “Sure.” The driver takes your damaged car to a body shop and refuses to release it until you pay what investigators quantify simply as “a large amount of money.” How large? We don’t know, but the fraud ring reportedly made approximately $217,000 by scamming accident victims in California.
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