By: Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News|
A frustrated local customer is issuing a dire warning to car buyers across the country: “Check your vehicle, you may have been scammed.”
Entertainer Ruiz Young claims he unknowingly became a victim of what investigators are now describing as a massive luxury-car duty-evasion and VIN-tampering operation based in Guyana.
In a video statement sent to Nightly News, Young detailed his harrowing experience after purchasing what he believed was a legitimate luxury vehicle from a well-known car dealer. However, upon closer inspection, he discovered alarming discrepancies that pointed to a sophisticated fraud.
“The chassis markings did not match the paperwork, while the VIN plate appeared altered,” Young explained.
The entertainer stated he was left stunned by the discovery, a feeling compounded by the recent emergence of “explosive audio recordings” that allegedly link a primary Guyanese car dealer to a sophisticated re-tagging scheme.
According to Young, the fraud was only exposed after the vehicle developed major mechanical problems, prompting him to look more closely. Perhaps most disturbing was the advice he allegedly received from the seller regarding law enforcement. Young told Nightly News that what he was instructed to do, should he be stopped by the police, was “shocking,” implying a deliberate attempt to evade legal scrutiny.
Young believes his experience is likely just “one drop in a huge bucket.” Investigators currently suspect that hundreds of vehicles may have been fraudulently altered before entering Guyana to bypass customs duties.
Now, Young is calling for a full investigation and significantly stronger consumer protections. He warns that unsuspecting buyers could be left holding worthless paperwork and driving with invalid insurance, now that this alleged car-racket ring has been exposed.
