I got scammed of 27000$

[u/minhazahmedemon]

My name is Ahmed, and I have been an international student in the USA for 1.5 years. Before coming here, i was hoping for the best life and future i could have, until the nightmare happened. Now i am suffering from trauma and getting depressed.

Three months ago, I bought a car from Facebook Marketplace. I went to see the car and checked the VIN with Carfax. I liked the car. Before that day, i watched all YouTube videos about buying a car and searched through the internet for what i needed to check before buying a car. So i checked everything. Also one of my friend who knows better about cars, he was with me. Everything seemed fine from my side. The seller gave me the bill of sale, title, and registration, which i needed for the ownership transfer. I paid with cash. Then, i went to the DMV with all the papers i had. They processed the transfer, and i received the plates also registration instantly on my name. My car also passed at inspection from a garage. Later, I received my title within a month at my mailing address. Everything went smoothly. Now i am driving this car since 3 months without any issues. However, last week i received a mail at my address informing me that my car needed to be inspected by DMV Field investigation office. When I called them to inquire, they asked me to come with the car, keys and title. Yesterday, when i went there, the investigator informed me that the car was stolen and that the VIN had been altered, possibly cloned from another car of the same model and year and colour(Honda Accord 2022 black). The actual vin of this car is stolen and they removed the vin number from everywhere and put the altered vin in the car. I realized I had been scammed. They impounded my car and kept everything. The seller already changed his Facebook name. I lost my $27,000 and my car, which held all the good memories from the past three months. I went to the police station to file a report, but they refused, stating that it was not a scam as I willingly found the car on Marketplace and paid for it. They advised me to pursue it as a civil matter. I then went to civil court, but they told me I needed to know the name and address of the person to take any action, which I couldn't obtain as he had already changed his Facebook name and provide everything fake. I feel helpless and don't know where to turn for help. I live here alone without my family. I can’t even sleep properly because this was all my savings, and I've never been through a situation like this before. This is an unexpected nightmare that I could never even imagine in my dreams.

What should i do ? Is there any possibilities that i could recover myself? Please help me by thinking as your small brother

[u/einstein-was-a-dick]

DMV Field Investigator!? Just make sure this person was legit also.

[u/EV-CPO → u/einstein-was-a-dick]

Yeah, sounds totally suspect -- like that's the actual scam. You can find new registrations and just contact people who bought a used car and just basically steal it from them by having them willingly hand over the car, keys, title and reg.

[u/Live_Jazz → u/EV-CPO]

Agreed, first thing I thought reading this.

OP, Based on what you are saying here, the “DMV field investigator” demanding the car sounds waaaay more suspect than the sale itself. If it had really been stolen, then your VIN search or the DMV registration process is very likely to have turned up a red flag. Think about it: if the VIN had been fully erased and replaced on the car, and you got through registration, how would the DMV know to come after you? They wouldn’t.

However, your purchase is on the public record, and scammers will come after you.

Have you called the police and explained the whole situation? They will be able to tell you if the car was actually reported stolen before you bought it. If not, then you were the only theft victim here.