Flower Mound police arrested a man on Wednesday at the Chase Bank on FM 2499 as he allegedly attempted to sell a stolen vehicle on Craigslist.
Ricardo Saul Rojas, a 28-year-old man from Houston, faces charges of forgery of government instruments and theft of property worth between $30,000 and $150,000.
According to officials, the department received a call from the 50-year-old victim that was suspicious of the purchase details.
The victim was a vehicle dealer and attempted to buy a Ford F-350 on Craigslist, which was listed by the suspect for $26,000. He called police when he suspected the Texas Certificate of Title was fraudulent.
According to police, the vehicle was actually worth about $45,000, raising more suspicions.
When the victim and Rojas agreed to meet and conduct the exchange, officers met the pair at the Chase Bank parking lot.
Flower Mound PD saw that the VIN numbers on the vehicle’s dashboard and driver’s side door did not match, so officers ran both numbers.
The correct VIN came back as a vehicle that was reported stolen out of Houston.
Rojas was booked into Denton County Jail on charges of theft of $30,000-$150,000 and forgery of a government instrument.
He was released on Sunday after posting a total of $15,000 in bond for both charges.
Flower Mound PD advised residents to watch out for similar scams, especially if a deal seems too good to be true.
During a vehicle purchase, the buyer should always verify the titles and the VIN before exchanging money and use the Police Department Exchange Zone for safer transactions.
