Oregon man bought his dream truck for $45,000, then finds out it was all a scam
When April Correa’s husband, Jamie, bought the 2023 GMC truck of his dreams off of Facebook Marketplace for $55,500 in Oregon City, Oregon, they thought they’d been handed a miracle. The couple drove to the dealership site and saw nothing suspicious.
“Everything seemed to check all the boxes, and it seemed like any dealership that we’ve ever been to,” April told KATU. She mentioned the ‘dealership’ has BBB accreditations, certificates, health inspector reports, and more. They felt safe. Until it came time to get the truck’s title from the dealership.
“He called several times, and it was just going straight to voicemail. So, he decided he’d go back into the dealership,” continued April.
“Nobody was there, the dealer was empty,” Jamie chimed in. Fearing the worst, the couple contacted the police. Police discovered the VIN on Correa’s paperwork was falsified, and the real VIN matched a truck that was stolen from Dallas, Texas earlier this year.
The truth meant the couple had to surrender their new truck to the police. Besides giving up their new truck, the Correa’s were forced to take a financial blow.
“I asked him, I’m like, ‘Well, what does that mean for us? What does that mean? We’ve just paid $45,000 for this truck; what does that mean we’re supposed to do at this point?’ And he said, ‘I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your money is gone,’” she recalled.
April says nine other drivers were scammed
After their story went live, the outlet contacted the Oregon DMV, who said their issue was a police matter since the vehicles were stolen. The police declined to comment as the investigation was ongoing.
April said she knows of nine other people who were scammed similarly. More than anything, she hopes they’ll be found out and punished.
“I mean, we really just feel like whoever this is somebody has to know something and hopefully that the people who did this can be caught,” she said.
Until then, the Correa’s live in a reality where their truck and the $45,000 they paid for it are gone.
“It’s insane. There’s no happy ending. There’s no solution,” she said.
