You may have heard the idea that criminals often return to the scene of their crimes, and, in a way, that seems to be the case with a recent investigation in Pennsylvania. The state discovered a large number of stolen vehicles that had their titles "washed," or updated to hide the fact they were stolen, all by the same person. Now, the alleged title washer has been arrested and charged for the crimes.
At Least 65 Cars Had Falsified Paperwork
According to both a press conference given by Pennsylvania's state attorney general, and the press release issued by his office, the perpetrator of the title washing is Adam Richardson. He apparently ran a title processing agency, and the state alleges he provided falsified documentation for as many as 65 different stolen cars. These were primarily luxury cars, and the estimated total value of the vehicles came to around $3.8 million. That comes to an average vehicle value of just over $58,000. A poster displayed at the press conference listed the most valuable vehicles, with four of them valued in the six-figure range, and they're listed below:
- 2021 Ferrari Portofino: $260,000
- 2023 Mercedes-AMG S63: $200,000
- 2023 Mercedes-Benz G550: $165,000
- 2018 Aston Martin (no model given): $105,000
Mercedes-Benz
The attorney general said that Richardson was caught in an investigation called Operation Hot Wheels that took about a year to put together the case with the help of the state's insurance fraud offices and Pennsylvania State Police. The stolen cars mostly came from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which makes sense considering Richardson was in the Philadelphia area, and the cars were sometimes sold both to unwitting customers and people who knew they were stolen. Richardson would of course be compensated for his help.
There's Still Work To Do
There is some good news for owners of the stolen cars. The attorney general said that 40 of the cars involved in the title-washing scheme have been recovered and returned to their owners. That still leaves 25 out there, though. The attorney general also went on to say that his office and other law enforcement departments are still working on tracking down cars and finding other criminals involved. Since there are ongoing investigations, though, the attorney general didn't go into further detail as to how involved Richardson might be with other crimes connected to the stolen cars.
Source: Pennsylvania Attorney General Office / Facebook, NCIB, WPVI-Philadelphia, via Road & Track
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This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
