Romands legally dispossessed of their car in a well-crafted scam

At least seven people in French-speaking Switzerland were scammed by the same 23-year-old young man, who dispossessed them of their car. Misadventures that remind us of the importance of never separating from the circulation permit for your vehicle.

“I didn’t know that you could make a duplicate of my car registration document so easily”: Torsten learned this the hard way a few weeks ago, when he received a message from the person who left with his car, telling him he got scammed. “He wrote to me: your vehicle is sold, I’m sorry. You can go to the police if you want”, he told Monday in the 7:30 p.m. of the RTS.

For this Genevan, it is the beginning of a long ordeal to try to recover his car, a Mercedes AMG GTS, which he thought of selling to Dylan R. for nearly 100,000 francs. Thanks to two articles published in the press in November 2021, he learned that Dylan R. was not at his first attempt. At least seven people have already filed a complaint against him since the spring of 2021 in the cantons of Vaud, Valais and Neuchâtel.

The Mercedes AMG GTS that Torsten had stolen. [DR]

No power of attorney needed

The mechanics were well oiled. The 23-year-old goes through classified ads on the internet and contacts sellers. He pretends to be an insurer who buys cars for his clients, or in the case of Torsten, for the owner of a garage in Aigle (VD). He takes the car to give it a try to the so-called customer and doesn’t mind letting the salesman take a photo of his Swiss ID.

Then, he postpones the agreed meeting, in order to gain time. Just enough to go to the auto office, change the name on the circulation permit and become the legitimate holder. With a gray card in his name, he can easily resell the vehicle to a garage or a private person and pocket the money.

Once you have given the gray card to a person, you cannot prevent that person from going to register your car in their name.

Romain Riether, lawyer

Roger Jenny, director of risk and quality management at the Geneva Cantonal Vehicles Office, lists the documents required for a change of holder: “The identity document in your name, the original gray card of the vehicle you want to register and a certificate insurance in your name.” No power of attorney from the original owner is required, either at the auto office or with the insurance.

Stories like these, Romain Riether knows some of them. This lawyer, member of the Avocats de la Route network, warns vehicle owners: “Once you have given the gray card to a person, in reality, you lose some control over the vehicle. And you cannot not prevent this person from going to have it registered in their name and then selling it, for example, to a garage, which would have acquired it in good faith.

Administrative flaws

Torsten had however been cautious in keeping his car’s driving license: “I don’t think I was negligent. I had checked his name on the internet and saw that he had a public limited company: that gave him confidence. Then I asked him to come with garage plates, which he did. I kept my car registration document and asked him for a deposit of 10,000 francs. We signed a promise to sale and I had a copy of his identity cards. So I really thought I was safe”, underlines the forty-year-old.

However, he will make a mistake, that of canceling his circulation permit. Dylan R. makes him believe that his alleged client wishes to buy the car and that the cancellation of this one is necessary to make a leasing. But the cancellation of his card will allow the thug to request a duplicate.

It is recommended to cancel the gray card only after payment

Roger Jenny, Director of Risk and Quality Management at the Geneva Cantonal Vehicles Office

How was Dylan R. so easily able to receive a reproduction of the registration document for the vehicle he had just stolen? “As long as the circulation permit is not cancelled, only the holder can request a duplicate”, answers Roger Jenny, from the automobile office. Otherwise, one can easily obtain the replica of a canceled card. “This is why it is recommended to cancel the gray card only after payment”, he insists.

The buyer’s good or bad faith

Through these administrative loopholes little known to the general public, Torsten was legally dispossessed of his car. “The police found it, it is registered in Zurich, with a private person, who is probably driving around with it. At the moment, I cannot recover it.”

Dylan R. being insolvent, the victims have little chance of recovering their money. Especially since the insurance companies generally refuse to come into the matter. “A long procedure awaits these people to try to demonstrate that the buyer acquired in bad faith. Good faith will be central to determining who will get the car”, specifies Romain Riether. For example, a garage that would have bought a Ferrari at half price from a person who appears to have no money will have a harder time convincing them of their good faith.

Torsten, who acts as a spokesperson for the Dylan R. victims’ group he joined on WhatsApp, says he is shocked at how easily it is possible to re-register a vehicle, without any verification. “I find it amazing that you can steal a vehicle like that, that this person is still free, that he probably continues to steal from other people.”

Since Torsten’s testimony, we have learned that Dylan R. was arrested by the police. But this one probably not acting alone, it remains preferable in the future never to give up his circulation permit before payment.

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