Recent Feedback
An ex-employee took a newly purchased company vehicle had the original title sent to them from the dealership. Had the vehicle titled in Ohio in my company name and then the same day had the vehicle retitled in her name. Does that transfer not need a signature and bill of sale transfer from the original owner, ie, me, on the documents presented to the Ohio BMV to complete the title transfer? This was not done nor was she authorized to sign anything for my company. Why would the Ohio BMV do that? Is that not fraud and or forgery? Will the Richland County Clerk of Courts be able to answer those questions by phone or do I have to go to Ohio and/or get legal representation to get my own car back and have this person arrested. Is this something that the FBI should be involved in?
Optional Information: State (if USA): OhioWhat have you tried so far?: Have tried to obtain copy of title to prove it is in her name. Have requested title through a FOIA request. Obtained a vehicle inquiry from Ohio BMV website which lists my company name on the vehicle inquiry and the same day a title transfer to a "private owner" but no actual name on the inquiry but I know from private sources that she has the vehicle.
This would be considered theft by Fraud and also Forgery if the employee did not have authorization to sign as representative of the company. The transfer needed a signature from a representative of the original owner and if this employee lied claiming they were the authorized representative of the company when making the transfer or forged someone's signature on the transfer, she has committed theft and forgery and filing false public documents. It is not something the FBI gets involved in, it is a violation of state law and it is something your local police gets involved in and you need to file a police report for theft and forgery.The BMV only looks as the documents to see if they were completed and they have no way of knowing who the agent of the owner is and if this person signed as agent or as owner to make the transfer it would not be up to BMV to verify I am afraid and your claim would be against the ex-employee.You need to file a complaint with the police for theft and forgery and have them investigate to get your car back. You can also file a civil suit for the same charges against her and seek monetary damages or return of the vehicle through the civil court.
I truly aim to please you as a customer, but please keep in mind that I do not know what you already know or don't know, or with what you need help, unless you tell me. Please consider that I am answering the question or question that is posed in your posting based upon my reading of your post and sometimes misunderstandings can occur. If I did not answer the question you thought you were asking, please respond with the specific question you wanted answered.
Kindly remember the ONLY WAY experts receive any credit at all for spending time with customers is if you click on OK, GOOD or EXCELLENT SERVICE even though you have made a deposit or are a subscription customer. YOU MUST COMPLETE THE RATING FOR THE EXPERT TO RECEIVE ANY CREDIT, if not the site keeps your money on deposit.
If you did not get all of the information you may have wanted or the law does not help your situation, PLEASE USE THE REPLY TO EXPERT LINK IF YOU HAVE FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS AND NOT THE FEEDBACK BUTTON FOR BAD SERVICE.
Also remember, sometimes the law does not support what we want it to support, but that is not the fault of the person answering the question, so please be courteous.
PLEASE NOTE WELL WE ARE DEALING WITH LAWS OF 50 STATES PLUS FEDERAL LAWS, AS WELL AS DEALING WITH OTHER CUSTOMERS, SO PLEASE BE PATIENT AND BE ASSURED YOU ARE NOT BEING IGNORED.
There can also be a delay of an hour or more in between my answers because I may be helping other customers or taking a break.
You can always request me through my profile at http://www.justanswer.com/law/expert-paulmjd/ or beginning your question with “For PaulMJD…”
Experience: JA Mentor -Attorney Labor/employment, corporate, sports law, admiralty/maritime and civil rights law
I am in Florida and the fraud and forgery occurred in Ohio. Do I report this to the Ohio local authorities? Because I reported the vehicle being taken by an ex-employee to the local sheriff's dept and they were not interested in helping me claiming they had no proof that the vehicle was not a "gift". If I did seek monetary damages would that be limited to the cost of the vehicle or additional compensation in addition to the cost of the vehicle. I don't know if you can tell or not but are you in Ohio near Mansfield or some other state. Thank you.
Yes, you have to report it stolen in Ohio. If they claim they have no proof it was not a gift and refuse to investigate it criminally, that is the discretion of law enforcement and your only other recourse would be to present your evidence to the DA in the area where this happened for them to determine whether or not they would take charges, since the DA has final say on prosecution of any criminal matter. If the DA refuses, then civil court is your sole remaining recourse.You would have to file suit in OH if they will not take charges and you could ask for BOTH return of the car and/or all money damages you suffered in her committing this action. We cannot take any cases from this site for representation I am afraid or make any personal referrals to local attorneys, as it is forbidden by the site rules. The best we can do for customers in regards XX XXXX finding representation would be to suggest they use the same sites used by other attorneys, http://www.martindale.com or http://www.lexmundi.com