FHP: A year-long auto loan scam cost bank thousands and lands a Gibsonton couple in jail
GIBSONTON, Fla. - A Gibsonton couple is behind bars after nearly a year-long scam that cost a local bank thousands of dollars.
Friday, Florida Highway Patrol Troopers arrested Haytham and Peggy Daas, the owners of Heaths Exotic Cars, after they uncovered dozens of fraudulent documents and contracts used to scam Mid Atlantic Financial.
The husband and wife duo allegedly backdated contracts with actual customers in an effort to sell those loans to the bank with the hopes of making a quick buck.
However, the scammers got creative and added people no longer living to their victim list.
"This is a case where we can easily see that even someone dies, after they pass away they can become the target of identity theft, this is called deceased identity theft," said Sorboni Banerjee, Fox 13's Consumer Reporter.
The suspects even made it look like one victim signed a contract in 2018 despite having died five years earlier.
"In this case, it was an auto company, a car company and they were using it for their financial gain, but any scammer any criminal could target someone after they die," said Banerjee.
It's a complicated scam. However, there are still ways to protect yourself, even for those no longer with us.
"We always want to honor the people that we lose and obituaries are a common standard practice that we do, and we put in all these details 'son of,' 'daughter of' and the date that they were born. But if you can keep things a little more generic, that will help protect your loved one," said Banerjee. "You want to take the time to make sure you notify all their financial institutions that they've passed away, and you also want to let the Office of Social Security, you want to let them know. So now if there is some type of suspicious activity, at least that could be a red flag."
The criminal couple was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail where both of them remain behind bars with 175 charges to each of their names.
If you suspect you may have been a victim of a scam, officials say it's best to contact your local law enforcement immediately.