Authorities charged two former Harris County Tax Office employees and two Houston business owners last week for their alleged roles in a fraudulent vehicle registration scam. Court documents allege that they illegally processed vehicle registrations and title transfers, defrauding taxpayers out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Police have taken the owner of Bella’s Multiservices and Notary, located in South Houston, into custody along with two other suspects. A fourth individual connected to Bella’s Multiservices remains at large as of Feb. 17. The police have issued a warrant for that person’s arrest.

Investigators claim that the scheme enabled customers to avoid inspections and important documentation. While doing so, tens of thousands of dollars were transferred to the scammers and uninspected vehicles were permitted to drive on local roads.

According to the Houston Chronicle, in 2023, police opened an inquiry after learning that the company was using TikTok to advertise that it provided registration stickers without a vehicle inspection or insurance. One of the suspects’ Facebook and TikTok accounts displayed piles of Texas license plates and vehicle registration stickers, promoting services that claimed to offer speedy processing without meeting standard requirements.

Additionally, from November 2023 to April 2024, the tax office staff allegedly paid two former employees of the Harris County Tax Office’s Scarsdale Branch thousands of dollars to falsely register dozens of vehicles.

How the fraudulent vehicle registration scam worked

According to court documents, the former tax office employees acknowledged to police that they frequently overrode the Registration Titling System, which the DMV uses to track car ownership information, titles, and registration transactions, to display a legitimate vehicle inspection or insurance.

In exchange for cash or presents, the women made fraudulent purchases using their personal credit cards. One of the employees told investigators that she usually charged $300 each transaction and would carry the forged registration documents home with her after work in a personal binder.

“The Harris County Tax Office’s rigorous internal controls ensure that all transactions strictly follow state law; these very systems played a critical role in bringing these allegations to light,” officials with the tax office said in a statement to the Chronicle.

Prosecutors charged the owners of Bella’s Multiservices and Notary with two felony counts each of engaging in criminal activity. In addition, prosecutors also brought two felony counts of organized crime against the two former tax office workers. All four of them face up to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.