A man is in jail after duping a car buyer into spending $10,000 on a stolen vehicle with a “cloned” VIN number, police said.
Gustavo Frias-Martinez, 55, has been charged with forgery, theft by receiving stolen property and possession of a stolen vehicle with an altered VIN.
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A Norcross man bought a 2016 Nissan Altima from Frias-Martinez in July, a police release said. When the man’s daughter attempted to register the car, staff at the Gwinnett County tag office realized the title was fake and called police.
Officers determined the vehicle was a “clone” — a car with its original VIN covered up and replaced by that of another similar car, likely in an attempt to hide that it’s been stolen — and had been stolen from Miami.
The man had purchased the car for $10,000 from Frias-Martinez after meeting him at a mechanic shop in Duluth. The sale was made at the man’s home in Norcross.
Police ask that anyone else who may have been victimized by Frias-Martinez contact detectives at 770-513-5300.
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