A woman “admitted to being involved in a systematic fraud organization operating out of California and China” after being caught attempting to buy a Tesla in Miami Gardens using someone else’s name on Monday, according to police.
Chuting Chen, 24, of Rosemead, California, is currently facing several felony accusations in South Florida.
According to the Miami Gardens Police Department, Chen went to the Tesla showroom at 20850 NW Second Ave. and attempted to purchase a Tesla Model X worth over $101,000 “using a fraudulent Florida driver’s license that returned to another individual with a significantly higher credit score.”
Authorities said Chen also offered employees a cashier’s check from a Montana-based company she purported to control. According to the arrest report, Tesla loss prevention instructed employees at the dealership to inform law police because they believed she was “involved in a larger fraud ring.”
According to police, Chen acknowledged deliberately using the bogus identification and purchasing it online for $100.
Authorities said she acknowledged opening a bank account in Las Vegas and that the Montana corporation was a “fraudulent shell company,” to which she wired over $38,000 as a down payment.
Chen admitted to being a part of the “systematic fraud organization” and stated that her partner was now in China, according to police.
According to the MGPD investigation, Chen had 32 California car titles and 46 vehicle certificates of origin, “which she knowingly (possessed) with the intent to fraudulently register vehicles and potentially ship them out of the country.”
Chen, a Chinese national, is charged with a scheme to defraud a financial institution, second-degree grand theft, fraudulent use of personal identification, an organized scheme to defraud, and transferring a car title without the purchaser’s name.
As of Tuesday morning, she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a “to be set” bond, according to online records.
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