19 people and 13 businesses charged with involvement in a vehicle title washing ring in PA

Scranton, Lackawanna Co. — 19 people in Pennsylvania are facing charges for their involvement in a vehicle title washing scheme.

The suspects are accused of buying and selling totaled and stolen cars that were not properly inspected.

The attorney general’s office and the Lackawanna county DA worked the 2 year investigation and released a report today.

13 businesses were involved in a car title washing ring across Pennsylvania.

The Attorney general’s office says 12 dealerships and a tag and title business in the Commonwealth were involved. The businesses are accused of not doing enhanced vehicle safety inspections on vehicles and only filling out the required paperwork without physically inspecting the cars.

The A-G says the businesses allowed hundreds of heavily damaged vehicles on roads in Pennsylvania and around the country.

“We don’t know what damage occurred to the vehicle, what damage was repaired, what wasn’t," said Rob LaBar, Chief Deputy Attorney General for Insurance Fraud Section. "That’s the concern that raises is they’re on the roads without the proper inspection that has been done.”

They also allegedly did this with stolen vehicles, replacing the VIN Number as well.

The Lackawanna County District attorney’s office said the hub of the operation was in Northeast Pennsylvania.

“It has been going on for a period of time," said Mark Powell, the Lackawanna County District Attorney. "It was a volume business, meaning they were making you know, fifty to sixty dollars in inspections but earned thousands and thousands of dollars. So there are quite a few vehicles out there. That’s Lackawanna county, this is the whole state.”

George Frietto, owner of George’s Garage in Scranton is one of those charged.

Investigators say Frietto claimed to have done over 240 inspections in 10 days but footage found only Frietto’s car enter the shop.

One of Frietto’s employees said they never completed a single enhanced vehicle safety inspection.

The investigation found many vehicles they claimed they inspected never even entered the state.

The district attorney says those who are concered should get their car reinspected.

“Their are a lot of vehicles out there that are not safe,” said Powell. “They converted “s” titles, salvaged titles, to “r” titles without doing the enhanced inspection to make sure they’re street worthy.”

“We should have confidence in our authorities, the reinspectors doing their job,” said LaBar. “We should have confidence in all the vehicles that are on the road that they are safe.

If you believe you were affected, reach out to the Inspector General and the District Attorney.

The 19 individual defendants were charged, in varying degrees, with: Corrupt Organizations, Forgery, Washing Vehicle Titles, Deceptive Business Practices, Tampering with Public Records, False Application for Certificate of Title, Altered, Forged, or Counterfeit Documents, Insurance Fraud, and Commercial Bribery, among other charges. Charges against the 13 businesses include, in varying degrees, Washing Vehicle Titles, Deceptive Business Practices, Tampering with Public Records, Altered, Forged, or Counterfeit Documents, and False Application for Certificate of Title.

The 13 businesses charged are listed below:

George’s Garage in Scranton

PA Tag & Title in Scranton

Luci’s Auto Sales, LLC in Old Forge

Newroad Motors in Lebanon

Best Value Auto Outlet/Oli’s Auto Sales in Scranton

PBJ Motors in Taylor

ALZ Auto Sales in Mount Pocono

Aquino Auto Mall in Lehighton

EOS Auto Sales in Taylor

Alliance Auto/Alliance Auto Sport, Inc. in Exeter

Salazar Auto Sales in York

N & G Towing, Body Shop and Sales, LLC in Dover

Beltin Auto Sales, LLC in York

If you believe that you may have been a victim of the practices of any of the above dealerships, vehicle inspectors, or tag agents, or have information about this or other forms of vehicle or title fraud should reach out to the Office of Attorney General by emailing the Insurance Fraud Section at titlefraud@attorneygeneral.gov. If you are in the Lackawanna County area, you can call (570)-963-6717 as well.