The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) is a tool designed to assist vehicle title investigators and local, state and federal law enforcement in investigating, deterring and preventing vehicle-related crimes. The NMVTIS Law Enforcement Access Tool (LEAT) allows users to view NMVTIS data reported from state motor vehicle titling agencies, automobile
recyclers, junk and salvage yards, and insurance carriers. LEAT also contains stolen vehicle files, vehicle lien and impound records, cloned and counterfeit vehicle files, and other pertinent vehicle information.

For the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicle’s (DMV) Compliance Enforcement Division (CED), accessing NMVTIS has been a powerful tool in the fight against fraud and earned the agency the International NMVTIS Enforcement Award.

“NMVTIS is the place that we start with in any investigation; it’s almost like a medical history for a vehicle,” says JD Decker, compliance enforcement administrator at the Nevada DMV CED. “It’s a way to match documents with the official history of the car. The history of the car is important. It has a manufacturer’s certificate of origin (which is like a birth certificate), repair records, title change, registration change. If you move out of state or to a different country, it has all those things that should tell a story about how the vehicle got to where it is today.”

The Nevada DMV CED uses NMVTIS to start every stolen vehicle investigation. In the past year, the team developed a stolen vehicle recovery program, which resulted in the recovery of more than 90 vehicles that had been stolen and/or had the vehicle identification number (VIN) switched—a scheme where fraudsters take a legitimate vehicle’s VIN and place it on a stolen vehicle. The program resulted in more than $3 million in recovered-vehicle values in Southern Nevada.

“The fraudsters have realized that it’s quick money. If you steal a vehicle, you can VIN-switch it and sell it for $70,000 or $80,000. That’s a lot of profit,” says Decker. “Of course, you don’t just do that once. If you’re capable of VIN-switching a frame and making the stickers, now you’ve got a production line for fraud.”

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has also found NMVTIS vital in fighting fraud. They used NMVTIS in an investigation after a major national used car chain submitted a complaint about an organized group of individuals believed to be selling company vehicles with odometer rollbacks. The initial complaint came in with approximately 120 vehicles titled or sold to stores in Virginia and Maryland.

“The fraudsters have realized that it’s quick money. If you steal a vehicle, you can VIN-switch it and sell it for $70,000 or $80,000. That’s a lot of profit.”

JD Decker, Compliance Enforcement Administrator, Nevada DMV CED

The Virginia DMV shared information with the Maryland Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and determined that the suspects were also buying vehicles at various auto auctions using dealer credentials from shell dealerships. Eight shell companies were identified.

The investigators used the NMVTIS tool to locate the current and prior owners of the vehicles and track mileage. Investigators narrowed the scope of the investigation to about 200 vehicles. Using the NMVTIS report’s title history, they reached out to states where the vehicles were previously titled and obtained former owners’ names and addresses. From there, investigators found each owner’s contact information and collected details confirming the suspected rollback, including financial information and suspect information. In all, over 200 interviews were conducted.

At this point, the criminal organization appears to be involved in other financial crimes. Another federal agency is investigating the suspects’ financials, as well.

“We know many of the routine cases we investigate can uncover the need for more in-depth investigations,” says Pam Goheen, assistant commissioner for communications at the Virginia DMV. “It’s in consumers’ and our communities’ interests for us to look behind why dealerships do not provide titles within the required 30-day timeframe or beyond a surface-level domestic dispute over a joint title to rule out potential forgery.”

“We are fortunate to have excellent tools to provide this service for our communities. In this case, because the mileage was altered on the titles submitted for vehicles from all over the country, we ran NMVTIS on each car to help build the story behind each car.”

Pam Goheen, Assistant Commissioner for Communications, Virginia DMV

Goheen adds, “We are fortunate to have excellent tools to provide this service for our communities. In this case, because the mileage was altered on the titles submitted for vehicles from all over the country, we ran NMVTIS on each car to help build the story behind each car. The tool saved us countless hours because we could look at the title and match the information without having to ask another jurisdiction’s agent to confirm the information. We know organizations like AAMVA and the National Insurance Crime Bureau are available and want to help. We appreciate the assistance as well as the accuracy and time-savings gained from these valuable resources.”

In general, communication with other agencies is essential, Goheen says. “Everyone has a piece of the puzzle, and the picture can only be completed when we all come together.”

Full Virginia Case Study

Virginia’s DMV sent along the following case study, which has been lightly edited, to highlight in greater detail how they used NMVTIS to fight fraud:

“A major national used car chain company submitted a complaint about an organized group of individuals believed to be selling the company’s vehicles with odometer rollbacks. The matter was complicated as the suspects were nomadic, and the vehicles in question were purchased nationwide from private individuals selling on Facebook Marketplace. The initial complaint came in with approximately 120 vehicles that were titled or sold to stores in both Virginia and Maryland.

Due to the scope of the problem, the investigation began by holding a meeting with stakeholders from the company, Maryland Department of Transportation, Virginia DMV, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. During this information-sharing meeting, it was determined that suspects were also buying vehicles at various auto auctions using dealer credentials from shell dealerships. Eight shell companies were identified.

Requests for information on each company were sent to major auctions along the East Coast. Results revealed the scope had grown to over a possible 1,000 odometer rollbacks. The complaining company estimated its identified loss at just over $5 million.

The investigators used NMVTIS to locate the current and prior owners of the vehicles and track the mileage. Investigators narrowed the scope of the investigation to about 200 vehicles. Using the title history found in the NMVTIS report, investigators were able to reach out to states where the vehicles were previously titled and obtain former owners’ names and addresses. From there, investigators were able to find contact information for each owner and obtain information confirming the suspected rollback, financial information and suspect information. In all, over 200 interviews were conducted.

The financials of the suspects are being investigated by another federal agency. At this point, it appears that the criminal organization is also involved in other types of financial crimes.

Because of the task force’s efforts, federal indictments for five suspects are imminent. The unknowing owners have been reimbursed and made aware, thus mitigating the safety concerns associated with an odometer rollback.

All of the investigators continue to meet to share the intelligence they have relating to other members of the organization who are not part of the federal indictment. It is anticipated that state charges will be placed on several other suspects. 

We know many of the routine cases we investigate can uncover the need for more in-depth investigations. It’s in consumers’ and our communities’ interests for us to look behind the reasons why dealerships do not provide titles within the required 30-day timeframe or beyond a surface-level domestic dispute over a joint title to rule out potential forgery.

We are fortunate to have excellent tools to provide this service for our communities. In this case, because the mileage was altered on the titles submitted for vehicles from all over the country, we ran NMVTIS on each car to help build the story behind each car.  

The tool saved us countless hours because we could look at the title and match the information without having to ask another jurisdiction’s agent to confirm the information. We know organizations like AAMVA and the NICB are available and want to help. We appreciate the assistance as well as the accuracy and time-savings gained from these valuable resources.

Communication with other agencies is essential; everyone has a piece of the puzzle, and the picture can only be completed when we all come together.”