Auto scam hits new victim

Jose Magos had a $9,500 check in his hand, full asking price for the 2005 Honda Civic he'd advertised on Craigslist, when a thought crossed his mind: “What if this was a scam?”

A quick Internet search on his home computer for “car insurance scams” confirmed the Omahan's fears: A story from Overland Park, Kan., mirrored the way his sale had gone down.

“It described my situation, the whole deal, down to a T,” Magos said. “After I read that, I knew I had been scammed.”

Omaha police said last week that Magos and Matt and Angie Larson, whose experience was the subject of an earlier World-Herald story, were victims of a multiple-state scam by a couple also operating in Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Utah and Idaho.

Kansas authorities have arrested a man, but the woman remains at large.

Othello Bland, 32, was arrested in Overland Park and is being held on $1 million bail. Prosecutors in Johnson County, Kan., have charged him with 17 counts of forgery, theft and identity theft in connection with 10 incidents that have occurred in the Kansas City area since January.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15.

Felony arrest warrants have been issued in Omaha for Bland, on one charge of theft by deception and one charge of criminal conspiracy, and for Chelsea Getchall, 21, on four charges of theft by deception.

They are the only suspects in the Omaha case, police said.

Larson, now studying law in Illinois, and Magos said they were pleased one person was in custody.

“If there is more, hopefully they can catch them, too,” Larson said.

Jim Weaver, a spokesman for the Overland Park Police Department, said detectives believe Bland lived in Denver and traveled to Missouri, Illinois and Omaha in July. He declined to comment further because the case still is under investigation.

Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Vanessa Riebli did not return several telephone messages seeking comment.

A spokesman for the Omaha Police Department, Jacob Bettin, said the scammers probably did a couple of quick deals — obtaining cars with phony insurance checks and then reselling them at low enough prices to attract buyers — as they traveled through the metro area.

Magos and the Larsons got their cars back after they were traced to the unsuspecting buyers. But the buyers are out more than $11,000, which they probably won't get back.

One buyer, a Council Bluffs man who paid $5,400 for Magos' Honda, declined to comment.

“I never got no money back,” he said angrily before hanging up the phone.

The other buyer, an Omaha man who paid $5,800 for the Larsons' Toyota, didn't return several phone messages.

Like the Larsons, Magos received a phone call from a woman who said she had been in a car accident and received a $10,000 check from her insurance company to purchase another vehicle.

She came to Magos' house, test-drove the car and offered what appeared to be a check from Allstate made out in Magos' name.

“She asked all the right questions. There was no way to know this was a scam,” Magos said.

Allstate officials said using the names of well-known companies is a favorite ploy of scam artists.

Craigslist representatives said earlier that most fraud can be avoided by dealing only with people who live nearby. People also should be aware that fake checks are a common ploy, they said.

Contact the writer:

444-1117, joe.ruff@owh.com

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