Police say they have busted a Waukegan businessman for running an operation where he scammed victims out of money that they paid for title transfers and vehicle registration, which he never provided.
The Waukegan Police Department’s Traffic and Criminal Investigations Divisions executed a search warrant on the morning of October 3 at 3042 Sunset Avenue.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said Monday that the warrant was in reference to numerous cases of fraud and forgery related to vehicle titles and registrations.
The target of the investigation was 61-year-old Reuben Collier and the licensing business.
A Google listing shows “Lake County Licensing Services” operating out of the location.
The business was unoccupied when investigators conducted the search warrant.
They located evidence of the forging of fraudulent registrations among other criminal acts, Chastain said.
A fictitious business license was located on the wall from the City of Waukegan, Chastain said. An inquiry showed no such license was issued by the city.
Collier was contacted by phone but refused to come to the scene.
An arrest warrant was issued for Collier charging him with multiple counts of continuing a financial crime enterprise, money laundering, theft over $10,000 and check fraud.
The Waukegan Police Department worked with the Illinois Secretary of State Police after fake temporary plates were spotted in Waukegan and other parts of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin in the past year.
Chastain said people would go to Collier’s business and request a title transfer or registration for their vehicles.
Collier would charge them a fee ranging from $600-$1,000 and then issue them an out-of-state temporary plate, such as Montana, Chastain said.
Chastain said Collier in most cases would not send any paperwork to the Secretary of State, leaving the customers without valid registration.
“Many of these victims never received their titles or plates, only the fraudulent out-of-state temporary registrations they were originally given,” Chastain said.
The State of Illinois shows Collier has no business license and is not an authorized licensing agent of the Secretary of State.
“It is believed that there are more cases out there unreported,” Chastain said. A warrant remains active for Collier and he is not in custody.
The Waukegan Police Department asks that anyone who fell victim to the business contact the Waukegan Police Department Traffic Division at 847-599-2567 and file a report.
In 2009, Collier pleaded guilty in Lake County to multiple counts of theft and forgery after the Illinois Department of Insurance said the man, operating as an insurance agent, forged hundreds of insurance certificates and stole approximately $400,000 from clients.