Fraudulent Online Sale of Used Cars

Nothing is what it seems on the Internet, but the Internet is often the fastest and least expensive way to buy things.  The Internet is also responsible for a sharp decline in fraudulent business practices by car dealers, because customers could now research the cars they were interested in buying before they went to the dealership, so they could better tell whether the salesperson’s statements were credible before they finalized the sale.  Of course, online scams against the elderly are as old as the Internet, and perhaps it was only a matter of time before two potentially shady practices, namely used car sales and online communication with seniors, intersected.  A Philadelphia man is facing criminal charges for defrauding buyers in 36 states by accepting payment for wheelchair accessible vehicles that were no longer available for sale.  If you paid for a used car but never received it, contact a Philadelphia used car fraud lawyer.

Philadelphia Salesman Collected Payment Dozens of Wheelchair-Accessible Cars but Did Not Deliver Them to Customers

During the years that he was operating his used car ecommerce business, Edward Scott Rock of Philadelphia got a lot of money from customers.  The only problem is that his customers did not get a lot of cars.  Between 2019 and 2023, Rock operated a specialized business that was in high demand; he bought used wheelchair accessible vehicles at used car auctions and resold them through his website to buyers throughout the United States.  For the buyers, this appeared to be an economical choice; modifying a consumer vehicle so that it can accommodate a wheelchair is expensive and time-consuming, so a used car with the accessibility features already built in is a real find.

Unfortunately for the buyers, Rock exploited the desirability of his products for his own financial gain.  He would keep a listing for a vehicle active on his site long after it had sold.  He kept the listing for a wheelchair accessible 2017 Ford T150 up on his site for a whole year, during which time 13 buyers paid for it, but only the first buyer ever got to drive it.  By the time of his arrest in early 2023, Rock had defrauded 120 buyers in 36 states out of a total of $2.5 million, by selling them cars they never received.  Many of the buyers were wheelchair users themselves, and some of them were over the age of 65.  The other buyers were small business owners whose companies provided transportation services for people with disabilities.

In December 2023, Rock, 47, was charged with wire fraud and mail fraud.  If convicted, he could receive a sentence of more than a decade in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

Contact Louis S. Schwartz About Online Used Car Fraud

A Philadelphia consumer law attorney can help you if a shady used car ecommerce website sold you an invisible lemon.  Contact Louis S. Schwartz at CONSUMERLAWPA.com to set up a free, confidential consultation.

Source:

patch.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/philly-used-car-salesman-ripped-12o-buyers-36-states-feds