A 34-year-old Chicago man is in custody after the Department of Transportation alleges he signed a fraudulent title for a Porsche, according to arrest affidavits.
Brandon Skular faces a felony charge of fraudulent application for a title, court records say.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Skular appeared at the Scott County Treasurer’s Office, 600 W. 4th St., Davenport, where he made an application for an Iowa title in the name of New Vision United LC , Davenport. He surrendered a fraudulent Georgia title in his name, and the Georgia Department of Revenue confirmed that the title was fraudulent, affidavits show.
Skular signed the application for the title, “signing under penalty of perjury that the foregoing was true and correct,” according to affidavits. The Georgia Department of Revenue has records of the car, but the title owner is different and the car was purchased from a dealer in Atlanta on Aug. 15, 2022, for $141,990, affidavits show.
“The true GA title has a lien to Porsche Financial Services,” affidavits show.
Additionally, affidavits show that, according to the DOT representative’s training and experience, “fraud actors will surrender fraudulent and/or altered titles to ‘wash’ or remove liens from vehicle titles.” Kelley Blue Book, a recognized resource for Fair Market Value of vehicles, shows a 2020 Porsche Taycan in good condition with a private party sale value of $71,649-$80,536 with an average value of $76,093, affidavits say.
According to Iowa law: “Any person who fraudulently uses a false or fictitious name in any application for the registration of, or certificate of title to, a vehicle or knowingly makes a false statement or knowingly conceals a material fact or otherwise commits a fraud in any such application is guilty of a fraudulent practice.”
Skular, who is being held on a $10,000 cash-only bond in Scott County Jail, is set for a preliminary hearing Jan. 26 in Scott County Court.
