A German Used Car Dealer Emigrates
Some times the little things really do matter. A Used car dealer borrowed the equivalent of $3 million dollars from a German bank and left Germany with the funds. The German bank hired a PI to find the money. The PI was having a hard time even locating the individual, let alone the money. Finally the PI began pulling drivers licenses. He found the offender, but the address on the license lead to a vacant lot. There was, however, a ticket issued to the driver and the license information gave the license plate of the car he was driving. The car belonged to a Grape Vine Studios. A review of all of the cars belonging to Grape Vine Studios showed several Rolls Royce and Mercedes, all registered to one home address.
With this basic information, it was found that the home, the cars, and the company, Grape Vine Studios, were all free and clear of any debt, and that the movies produced by Grape Vine Studios were very profitable. The bank moved to freeze the assets and was successful. The “borrower” from Germany repaid the loan with interest and fees. When asked why he had skipped, he said he figured no one would ever be able to find him since he was using a series of shell companies and fronts. When he was told how he was found, he was shocked that anyone, let alone a mere PI, could follow up such a meaningless lead.
