State investigators are looking for a man they believe was stealing cars in Florida, driving them to Utah to put on phony Vehicle Identification Numbers and then registering them with the state.
Wagner Vargas was charged in 3rd District Court by the Utah Attorney General's Office last week with 14 second- and third-degree felonies and a class B misdemeanor. The charges included insurance and communications fraud, transferring stolen vehicles and phony registration.
Vargas already served time in federal prison in the late 1990s on similar charges, said investigator Shane Burton with the Utah Motor Vehicle Division's auto theft unit. But after he got out, he moved to Utah and allegedly continued his old ways.
Investigators believe Vargas would occasionally fly back to Florida where another group would have a stolen car waiting for him. After picking up the car, he would drive back to Utah without stopping, Burton said.
One time Vargas was pulled over by police but the car he was driving was not reported stolen yet and he was not arrested.
Once in Utah, Vargas allegedly produced high quality VIN plates as well as his own safety and emissions stickers and stuck them on the stolen cars, Burton said.
"He was good at what he did," said Lt. Tim Fletcher, chief inspector for the Motor Vehicle Division.
Investigators believed Vargas took five stolen cars to Utah in 2002. Acting on a tip, investigators served a warrant at his Sandy home last June. They found four stolen cars at his house: a 2001 Nissan Xtera, a 1999 Ford F-150, a Pontiac Sunfire and a Honda Accord.
Investigators in Utah as well as the Miami-Dade County Auto Theft Task Force are now looking for Vargas and others who may have been involved in the ring. A $100,000 warrant has been issued for Vargas' arrest.
Burton said investigators believe Vargas already sold one of the stolen cars. He secured a bank loan using another car as collateral, Burton said. Investigators believed Vargas would have eventually liquidated his stolen vehicles into cash.
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