A Miami tag office clerk is accused of being involved in a multi-million dollar title fraud scam involving at least twelve stolen vehicles. Prosecutors have charged her with 36 felonies.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office claims that the inquiry got its start on January 12 during a bust at a chop shop in Doral.
Three stolen vehicles, “including a 2022 Lamborghini Urus, a 2023 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, a 2021 Mercedes-Benz G550 and two fraudulent VIN plates,” were discovered by detectives after they obtained a search warrant, according to a news release issued on Tuesday.
Police were called to 5161 NW 79th Ave. after a stolen vehicle was reported as having pinged inside the auto shop.
The chop shop proprietor was taken into custody by police; prosecutors withheld his identity until Tuesday.
Prosecutors claimed that at that point, the investigation focused on Katherine M. Vera Moran. They added that after questioning the owner of the auto shop, police learned of the 27-year-old’s involvement in the car theft scheme.
Prosecutors alleged that Vera Moran was employed as a clerk at Baumgardner Auto Tag Agency, which is situated in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood at 1375 NW 36th St.
Vera Moran, of northwest Miami-Dade, allegedly faked titles and tax documents on stolen cars, earning between $800 and $1,000 in cash or Cash App payments for each instance of false title transactions, according to the prosecution.
“The investigation exposed Vera Moran’s frequent manipulation of VINs associated with total loss vehicles, such as transferring a 2020 White Jeep Gladiator, deemed a total loss due to extensive fire damage, to a salvage rebuilt title appearing in perfect condition,” as per the SAO news release.
Twelve of the eighteen cars that were found and/or definitively recognized with altered VINs by the authorities were “confirmed to be stolen” and handled by Vera Moran.
Together, those cars were valued at almost $3,385,000, according to the prosecution.
Vera Moran was taken into custody by Doral police on Monday morning at the tag agency, according to an arrest record.
She “just simply generates the documents for the vehicles based on the paperwork and titles she receives and she has no way of verifying the authenticity of the documents,” according to police, who said she only handles “dealership requests” during an interview with detectives.
They further claimed that she “did not have the responsibility to verify the documents that she processes and that she is not a police officer.”
According to the report, she claimed that she “sometimes takes personal requests from clients who only want to deal with her” and that she “sometimes receives tips from her clients” of about $200 via Cash App after learning that the majority of the titles went to specific people.
Vera Moran gave her permission for a phone check, according to the police, during which they discovered “multiple photos of drivers’ licenses and title documents.”
“Fraudulent title transfers not only deceive the system but inflict profound harm on victims who suffer the loss of property and insurance companies who are forced to cover theft claims,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle stated. “Such crimes can have a lasting and detrimental impact on our community, costing the hardworking citizens of Miami-Dade County by driving up car insurance premiums.”
According to the announcement, the arrest was made possible by the collaboration of SAO investigators with Doral and Miami police, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the Miami-Dade tax collector’s office.
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“Our team of detectives worked diligently with the State Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to target, infiltrate, and dismantle a criminal enterprise and I am grateful for their exemplary service,” Doral police Chief Edwin Lopez stated.
Vera Moran is charged with eighteen charges of title fraud and governmental misconduct. The Ecuadorian national was being held on a $50,000 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to jail records.
According to those documents, she was also already out on felony bond after being accused of fleeing the scene of an accident without causing major injuries. She is currently being held by a magistrate.
