Florida Man Buys Corvette with Stolen Identity — Here's What Went Wrong

The Fraudster’s Playbook

Julio Nunez of Miami allegedly used another man’s identity to finance a brand-new 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray valued at $98,358 from a dealership in Pompano Beach, Florida. After driving off the lot, Nunez transferred the car’s title to his own name. He even had the boldness to bring the car to a tag agency to get it re-registered.

🚩 Red Flags Missed

• No proper ID verification: Nunez used the victim’s Social Security number and credit profile but ultimately re-registered the vehicle under his own name, a classic post-sale red flag that went unnoticed.

• Credit matched, but identity didn’t: It appears the credit pull succeeded, but the physical ID was never verified properly.

• No dealership verification of photo ID and digital footprint: Fraudsters often present real-looking documents that pass cursory inspections. A true match between credit data and verified identity was never performed.

💸 Who Paid the Price?

• The victim, who is now facing the nightmare of identity restoration.

• The dealership, which is likely stuck with the financial loss or having to recover the vehicle.

• The lender, if involved, is at risk of absorbing a six-figure bad loan.

• Law enforcement resources, now stretched to recover a car that should have never been sold to a fraudster.

🛡️ What Could Have Stopped It?

A credit pull alone is not enough. What’s needed is a system that matches verified personal identity with credit prequalification — before the sale.
Had the dealership used a solution like VeriQual™, the mismatch between the identity and applicant could have been flagged before the keys were handed over. VeriQual not only verifies the phone number and identity in real time, but ensures the credit profile and physical person match — helping stop fraud at the door.