A South Florida husband and wife who own a luxury car dealership are facing charges in an alleged title fraud scheme involving multiple vehicles, authorities said.
Michael Anthony Lucci, 32, and Emily Marie Lucci, 30, are facing more than three dozen charges including nine counts of making a false statement in an application for a bill of sale, nine counts of perjury by false written declaration, nine counts of uttering forged instruments, nine counts of possessing counterfeit vehicle title or registration, one count of organized fraud, and one count of racketeering, arrest reports said.
The pair were arrested Wednesday following an investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol involving their business, Luxury Auto Source in Davie, the reports said.
According to the reports, FHP began investigating a title fraud involving the submission of fraudulent parts invoices to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for a 2020 Nissan GT-R.
Emily Lucci had submitted documentation at a tag agency in Miami-Dade to obtain a certificate of title, and included was a parts invoice that claimed repairs to multiple major components totaling over $18,000, the reports said.
But the invoice was fictitious and the real invoice was around $1,200, and the vehicle was listed for sale for $94,500 after having been sold in 2022 for $55,000, the reports said.
Investigators started looking into all vehicles listed for sale by the business and found eight other vehicles had rebuilt titles issued by Florida with fraudulent invoices submitted during the process, the reports said.
The vehicles included a 2022 Porsche 911 with a price of $187,900, a 2017 Bentley with a price of $63,900, a 2020 Toyota Supra with a price of $36,900, a 2018 BMW M3 for sale for $37,900, a 2023 Cadillac Escalade for $56,900, and a 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for $52,900, the reports said.
The Dodge was found with multiple VINs and the motor belonged to a vehicle stolen out of North Carolina, the reports said.
“At the conclusion of my review, I identified nine vehicles currently offered for sale by Luxury Auto Source LLC that were titled through the submission of fraudulent or manipulated parts invoices to DHSMV,” an investigator wrote in the arrest reports. “These vehicles constitute contraband, as their titles were obtained through fraudulent means. These vehicles, and potentially additional vehicles sold through this dealership, present a significant risk to innocent purchasers, who may unknowingly buy vehicles subject to seizure and forfeiture, resulting in both the loss of the vehicle and associated funds due to their status as contraband.”
On Wednesday, the FHP executed a search warrant at the business and took Michael Lucci into custody. Emily Lucci drove herself to jail to surrender, the reports said.
Both appeared in court on Thursday where they were granted $30,000 bonds.
