@Anonymous wrote:
Well our auto loan is with WF. I would be taking the money to pay off some other WF accounts. So that doesn't seem fraudulent. But I don't think they will send us a check outright. They are waiting for us to find the car and provide mileage and Vin numbers. And then the check will be made out to the dealer or seller.
We really would love to find a nice old lady who has a garage kept Toyota Campy with low mileage that can no longer drive. For that scenario, It would be best to just send us the check.
But I will ask....
It would be considered fraud because they are sending you the check/money for the collateralized loan of a car...with a car interest rate attached. Inflating the value of the car to skim money off the loan and pay the lower car interest rate, instead of the uncollateralized or a consolidation loan interest rate on that money is fraud. Car loans get the cheaper interest rates they get due to the fact that the loan itself is backed up by the value of the car and the car will be taken if you do not live up to the loan.
inflating the value of the loan=someone making something up, omitting something, or someone telling a lie.
1- Purposely telling a lie to gain greater value, monetary benefit, and/or benefit yourself is legally considered fraud.
2-Sending such documents through the mail, through electronic means, and the federal reserve system in the check form is considered, respectively; mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud.
The reason your credit union wants you to find the car and transaction first is to limit fraud. The loan check is to cover the costs buying the vehicle and the transaction costs associated with it. By checking the specifics of the mileage and VIN they are not issuing a $20K loan on a vehicle valued at $4K.
Bank Fraud Statute in Title 18 of the U.S. Code. 18 U.S.C. § 1344 (Bank Fraud Statute) states:
Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice—
(1) to defraud a financial institution; or
(2) to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, or other property owned by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises;
shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.
and one of my Favorite quotes from the movie Real Genius is: "Remember fraud is a felony."
