Stuart Police: BOLO Auto Scammer
On 12/30/2022 your Stuart Police Department officers responded to a report of fraud. The victim stated that he purchased a vehicle from an individual, later to be identified as Christian Belliard, off social media. Belliard delivered the car, and provided all the proper information to the victim, including the VIN, which was out of state, and his own personal identification. When the victim went to register the vehicle, he was unable to. It was at this time the victim suspected and reported the fraud.
When officers arrived, the victim presented them with photographs of Belliard, including a photo of his driver’s license, and all the paperwork that was signed. Luckily, the victim sensibly asked Belliard if he was okay with the transaction being documented with photographs. The driver’s license Belliard presented, and the vehicles temporary plate were run through a law enforcement program. The ID was found to be a falsified, and the temporary plate came back as “no record found”.
Investigators later arrived at the scene to take a further look at the vehicle and talk to the victim. While inspecting the vehicle, investigators noticed that certain items were not original to the vehicle. This prompted them to look at what else may have been altered. With a careful eye, they observed that the VIN plate had been modified. The true VIN was identified, and by using law enforcement programs, the VIN was searched and came back to a stolen vehicle out of NY.
The NYPD was contacted, and a BOLO was put together and sent out locally and nationally due to the case being tied to more than one state. Multiple agencies reached out regarding similar cases. It was through this that investigators were able to obtain the name, and positively identify Christian Belliard (pictured).
There is currently a warrant out for Billiard’s arrest for the following charges:
FSS 812.019(1)- Dealing in Stolen Property
FSS 831.02- Uttering Forged Instrument
FSS 817.034(4)(A)3- Organized Fraud- Less Than $20,000
Please be aware of possible frauds and scams when conducting business online or over social media applications. If you believe you may have been the victim of a scam, please contact the Stuart Police Department to report it.
