Police: Dead man's ID was used to buy BMW

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Police said it’s a new low in the world of identity theft, using the information of a dead man to fraudulently buy an expensive BMW.

It happened at BMW of Gwinnett Place in Duluth where Gwinnett County Police said two vehicles were purchased with bogus identifies to get loans. Investigators released the picture of a man who they said obtained a loan to buy a BMW 740, with the identity of a dead man.

“He’s using the Information of a deceased person, somehow he has stolen that person’s identity and is representing himself as that person and signed documents and was able to purchase the vehicle,” said Corporal Wilbert Rundles with the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Corporal Wilbert Rundles said the car crook used the dead man’s ID to co-sign another loan with an accomplice who used the stolen identity of a living man to buy a second Beamer, an X6.

Investigators said the BMW thief, who had the dead man’s social security number, created a fake license with his picture and the dead man’s ID to garner financing for the two vehicles worth tens of thousands of dollars.

No comment from the dealership on the thefts valued at more than $100,000 at the hands of two men who stooped to a new low.

“We all had members in our families who’ve passed and so to think that someone could do such a thing it just hurts,” said Angela Pittman, a Gwinnett County resident.

Police said the two stolen BMW’s were found a few days ago, the 740 in Stone Mountain with body damage and flat tires, the cross over abandoned in Riverdale.

The motive remains unclear but Police are looking into a possible tie into car cloning, where the car Vehicle Identity Numbers are changed to help disguise stolen vehicles.

“It could be related, not necessarily to those other persons involved with cloned vehicles, but to that whole scheme, that scheme is growing,” said Corporal Rundles.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Gwinnett Police Department.