In case you haven’t heard of title washing, it’s a seemingly simple yet elaborate operation. A scammer, like Ahmed Nije from Tampa, Florida, would create fraudulent titles for vehicles to sell at full retail price to customers.

So, if he got a hold of a stolen car, all he needed to do was alter the VIN (often by taking them from cars at a dealership, similar cars, etc.), he would register the stolen car under the new VIN in a different state, and sell the vehicle. An unsuspecting customer then buys a stolen car without realizing it since its history is completely erased.

Nije would do the same with cars that had salvage titles, if it was a manufacturer buyback, or had an otherwise questionable history that would diminish the car’s value. With a new title, he can sell it at full price. After the car is off the lot, it’s no longer his responsibility, and he makes nothing but profit.

Nije was apprehended in January for crimes related to the above, but he bonded out and was released, FOX 13 reports. However, he quickly got back to work on the scheme and was arrested again in late February.

Authorities assume he’s title washed around 20 cars

Kathryn Bonti, a trial attorney for the Hillsborough State Attorney’s office, called his scheme a “large enterprise.”

“We believe this is a pretty large enterprise essentially,” she told the outlet. “In some of the other cases, we see that he is actually defrauding victims in purchasing these vehicles. So what we think – which we can’t say for sure because we’re not clear exactly – but the game is to return a large profit from these potentially stolen vehicles.”

Court documents discovered by investigators revealed he’s knowingly sold at least two stolen cars. But he’s washed the titles of many more.

“We’re seeing that he has moved close to 10 to 20 vehicles, some of them being $85,000 to $100,000 for an individual vehicle,” Bonti said.

He’s awaiting trial, but he’s being held without bond this time. So far, he’s facing 21 fraud-related criminal charges. Authorities aren’t sure if multiple people are involved, so an investigation is ongoing.

Bonti encouraged viewers to be savvy when buying used

The only way to be sure about a vehicle’s history is to run the VIN. However, since people like Nije could easily alter or remove VINs from common areas like the dash or the driver’s side door, it’s important to check other hidden places thieves might be too busy to check.

“[A VIN] could be hidden in the trunk. They could be hidden underneath the carrier of the vehicle itself. I know that may be difficult to do when you’re at, maybe, a public area, but those are the things you just want to be careful with when you’re purchasing these vehicles,” she said.

“Because, down the road, you could find out that this car was stolen.”