Thieves Rent Car, Then Sell It At A McDonald’s

1CK1S
1CK1S Members Posts: 27,471 ✭✭✭✭✭
2w6b59u.jpg

A Lafayette, Tennessee, man thought he’d struck Craigslist gold. The Chevrolet Suburban, normally valued at around $60,000, was selling for half its normal price. All he had to do was bring $30,000 in cash to a McDonald’s parking lot in Nashville, and the new vehicle would be his.

But Kyle Whitlow, the would-be Suburban owner, grew suspicious of the deal when he forked over the $30,000. The 28-year-old handed the cash to two young men, who gave him the Suburban and sped off in their own car without even counting the money. Whitlow’s suspicions grew when he attempted to register the car later that day and found another name on the registry: EAN Holdings LLC, the parent company of Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

“It was on Craigslist, you know,” Whitlow told The Daily Beast. “What gave it away is he didn’t want to count the money or nothing.”

The Suburban sale was the product of a two-day crime spree involving vehicle theft and credit card fraud, Nashville International Airport police wrote in a report obtained by a Nashville ABC affiliate. Two young men, identified as Kaleb Louis, 22, and Maurice Lewis, 20, flew from Houston, Texas, to Nashville on March 14. While still in the airport, the pair allegedly used a fake driver’s license and a stolen credit card to rent the expensive SUV.

After driving off the lot with the rented Suburban, Louis and Lewis allegedly set about making the car look like their own. They outfitted the rental with a license plate ripped from a Toyota Camry in a nearby apartment complex, and forged documents to indicate that they owned the car. Then they listed the Suburban on the Nashville Craigslist page, where Whitlow purchased it the following day.

After selling the vehicle to Whitlow at McDonald’s, the pair boarded the next flight to Houston. According to police, they remain at large.

Rental vehicle theft is on the rise in Houston, where police say criminals are printing fake IDs and using them to rent cars, which are then used to commit other crimes, or sold to unsuspecting Craigslist buyers.

An Enterprise representative declined to comment on the Suburban theft, or the frequency of other thefts from their lots. But with the exception of the license plate removed from the back of the Suburban, the company saw the car returned in one piece, police said.

When asked whether they would keep tabs on future vehicle thefts, or implement new anti-theft policies, Enterprise Rent-a-Car said it would leave crime prevention to the police. Enterprise is “not going to have some kind of database of vehicles sold on Craigslist,” the company told The Daily Beast.

Nashville Airport police delivered the Suburban to Enterprise shortly after Whitlow discovered it was stolen. With the car back on the Enterprise lot, however, Whitlow has nothing to show for the $30,000 he allegedly paid for the vehicle.

“I doubt it,” Whitlow told The Daily Beast when asked whether he could recover the money. “That’s what I’m ? off about. The detective told me I probably wouldn’t see the money again, that they probably wouldn’t even see jail time. That’s what I don’t understand. If I’d stolen it, I’d be in jail already.”

Comments

  • Melanin_Enriched
    Melanin_Enriched Members Posts: 22,868 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This is why you check the vin
  • Shizlansky
    Shizlansky Members Posts: 35,095 ✭✭✭✭✭
    1CK1S wrote: »
    2w6b59u.jpg

    A Lafayette, Tennessee, man thought he’d struck Craigslist gold. The Chevrolet Suburban, normally valued at around $60,000, was selling for half its normal price. All he had to do was bring $30,000 in cash to a McDonald’s parking lot in Nashville, and the new vehicle would be his.

    But Kyle Whitlow, the would-be Suburban owner, grew suspicious of the deal when he forked over the $30,000. The 28-year-old handed the cash to two young men, who gave him the Suburban and sped off in their own car without even counting the money. Whitlow’s suspicions grew when he attempted to register the car later that day and found another name on the registry: EAN Holdings LLC, the parent company of Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

    “It was on Craigslist, you know,” Whitlow told The Daily Beast. “What gave it away is he didn’t want to count the money or nothing.”

    The Suburban sale was the product of a two-day crime spree involving vehicle theft and credit card fraud, Nashville International Airport police wrote in a report obtained by a Nashville ABC affiliate. Two young men, identified as Kaleb Louis, 22, and Maurice Lewis, 20, flew from Houston, Texas, to Nashville on March 14. While still in the airport, the pair allegedly used a fake driver’s license and a stolen credit card to rent the expensive SUV.

    After driving off the lot with the rented Suburban, Louis and Lewis allegedly set about making the car look like their own. They outfitted the rental with a license plate ripped from a Toyota Camry in a nearby apartment complex, and forged documents to indicate that they owned the car. Then they listed the Suburban on the Nashville Craigslist page, where Whitlow purchased it the following day.

    After selling the vehicle to Whitlow at McDonald’s, the pair boarded the next flight to Houston. According to police, they remain at large.

    Rental vehicle theft is on the rise in Houston, where police say criminals are printing fake IDs and using them to rent cars, which are then used to commit other crimes, or sold to unsuspecting Craigslist buyers.

    An Enterprise representative declined to comment on the Suburban theft, or the frequency of other thefts from their lots. But with the exception of the license plate removed from the back of the Suburban, the company saw the car returned in one piece, police said.

    When asked whether they would keep tabs on future vehicle thefts, or implement new anti-theft policies, Enterprise Rent-a-Car said it would leave crime prevention to the police. Enterprise is “not going to have some kind of database of vehicles sold on Craigslist,” the company told The Daily Beast.

    Nashville Airport police delivered the Suburban to Enterprise shortly after Whitlow discovered it was stolen. With the car back on the Enterprise lot, however, Whitlow has nothing to show for the $30,000 he allegedly paid for the vehicle.

    “I doubt it,” Whitlow told The Daily Beast when asked whether he could recover the money. “That’s what I’m ? off about. The detective told me I probably wouldn’t see the money again, that they probably wouldn’t even see jail time. That’s what I don’t understand. If I’d stolen it, I’d be in jail already.”

    They going to jail.
  • Young Stef
    Young Stef Members Posts: 1,447 ✭✭✭✭✭
    They ran off on the plug and hit him wit the grimace.
  • Elzo69Renaissance
    Elzo69Renaissance Members Posts: 50,708 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There s a lie in here somewhere
  •   Colin$mackabi$h
    Colin$mackabi$h Members Posts: 16,586 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That ? better come with some mcnuggets inside the glove compartment....
  • LUClEN
    LUClEN Members Posts: 20,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So he just paid them without getting the ownership?
  • Focal Point
    Focal Point Members Posts: 16,307 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • K_Fisher
    K_Fisher Members Posts: 2,285 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So ILL wrote: »
    Who's just giving up $30,000 that fast? I need to see some paperwork or something, ? .

    A fool and his money...
  • HundredEyes
    HundredEyes Members Posts: 2,959 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Lmao he was fiending for that suburban
  • O.G.
    O.G. Members Posts: 7,555 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Using peoples greed against them is the easiest way to con someone.
  • ghostdog56
    ghostdog56 Members Posts: 2,947 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I give these ? credit for at least being creative, most ? would of just stuck a gun in his face when he pulled out the cash
  • caddo man
    caddo man Members Posts: 22,476 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My cousin did this. Had a chick rent the car. Report it stolen and drove to Houston and sold the car with some fake papers. He got caught when the insurance company interrogated the chick.