Dude, where’s my car? Naples police investigating theft of $71K Mercedes

March 12--Whoever made off with a $71,000 luxury sedan from a Naples car dealer sure has good taste in automobiles.

Naples police are trying to determine who stole a $71,496Mercedes-Benz from the Jaguar Naples dealership on U.S. 41 North. But they suspect the thief is not working alone.

"It's part of a larger identify theft ring," Naples Police Lt. John Barkley said. "Our guys are just starting to investigate this end of things now."

The thief, using an apparently stolen identity out of Chicago and a $71,495.85 loan from SunTrust Bank, purchased a black 2011 Mercedes E63 four-door from the dealership via an internet/phone transaction last July, according to a police report. A few days later, reports say a man who identified himself as the buyer's "nephew" picked up the car.

Four months later, in December, a woman who claimed to have had her identification stolen called the dealership and said she had never purchased the car, reports said. She later told a dealership employee that her ID had been stolen when she applied for a mortgage and had filed a report with Chicago police.

The dealership had copies of her driver license and a signed credit bureau contract, reports said.

At the end of January, SunTrust Bank called the Jaguar dealership to report that no payments had been made on the loan. There were questions about whether the bank or the dealership was the victim in this case, but the dealership has since paid the full amount to the bank, reports said.

"The dealer is out the money, so they are the victims," Barkley said.

Police did not have a description on Wednesday of the "nephew" who picked up the car. A controller at the dealership declined comment and attempts to reach the dealership's general manager were unsuccessful.

Reports don't say if the "nephew" provided a driver license or proof of insurance when he picked up the car, or what steps the dealership took to identify him. It's unclear what steps the bank took to identify the person who took out the loan.

CAR Magazine, based in the UK, called the 2011 Mercedes E63 a "great, great car" and an "utter thrill to drive." Car and Driver lists a base price of $88,475.

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