Barton Suggests Bill to Halt Fraud In Sale of Katrina-Damaged Cars

Barton Suggests Bill to Halt Fraud In Sale of Katrina-Damaged Cars

WASHINGTON - A legislative fix may be necessary to keep shiny wrecks with phony titles from being sold to gullible car buyers, U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said today at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.

"I think we should pursue a legislative draft - this looks like an issue where something needs to be done," said Barton, chairman of the full committee.

Title fraud occurs by altering or duplicating the title of a flood-damaged or totaled car to give it a clean title history. The scale of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita highlighted the title fraud problem, with some estimating that more than 600,000 vehicles may have been damaged.

"Among these things lost to the storm were hundreds of thousands of automobiles and trucks, possibly as many as 600,000," Barton said. "Most of those vehicles were damaged beyond usefulness. But it seems inevitable that a few bad actors will seek to spread the misery of the hurricane by shining these vehicles up and selling them to gullible buyers in states far far from the Gulf of Mexico."

http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/News/03012006_1793.htm