Orlando, Fla. Police Officers, Co-Conspirators Charged with Title Fraud

Criminal fraud charges have been filed against two Orlando, Fla. police officers, a towing company operator and a car dealer for their roles in a scheme to title Mack trucks so they could be resold at higher prices, according to Attorney General Charlie Crist.

Arrests warrants have been issued for Officers Keith Gibson and Larry Kamphaus of the Orlando Police Department, as well as Edward Utley and Alvin Sosa. All four men are expected to surrender to authorities later this afternoon.

An investigation conducted by Crist’s office and the Florida Highway Patrol revealed that Utley, 70, purchased 20 partial Mack trucks consisting of only the cab, frame rails, front wheels and tires, as surplus parts from a Texas company. Sosa, 60, then applied for towing and storage titles for the trucks, claiming they had been towed to his lot and that he could not locate the owners. Officers Gibson, 43, and Kamphaus, 35, falsely certified that they had personally verified the VIN numbers on the partial trucks to allow for the new titles.

Over the course of the eight-month investigation that began in August 2005, authorities determined from Utley that he often reassembled trucks from the parts and sold them as complete units. The new titles were sought because a truck sold under a new truck title would sell for almost twice as much as a truck sold with an assembled from parts title.

Utley and Sosa have each been charged with one count of organized fraud and two counts of title fraud. If convicted on all charges, each could face up to 15 years in prison. Gibson, a 16-year veteran of the police force, has been charged with two counts of title fraud and could face up to 10 years in prison. Kamphaus, an 11-year police veteran, has been charged with one count of title fraud and could face up to five years in prison. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Topics Fraud Law Enforcement