A California teenager has lost his $58,000 college fund after a Mercedes-Benz he purchased was repossessed, an incident he attributes to a scam facilitated by an alleged error from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Arrod Berjis, 17, bought a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG for $58,000 after finding it on Autotrader. He intended to fix up the car, enjoy driving it, and then sell it for a profit to add to his college savings.
Before finalizing the purchase, Berjis said he and the seller visited the DMV to verify the car's title and ensure there were no outstanding liens. He stated that a DMV employee repeatedly assured him the title was clear, and a Carfax report also showed no liens.
After spending three months repairing the vehicle, Berjis found a buyer willing to pay $75,000. However, before the sale could be completed, the car disappeared. Berjis initially contacted the Los Angeles Police Department, suspecting theft, but was directed to a towing company. There, he learned the car had been repossessed at the request of the online used-car retailer Carvana.
"They basically told me that ‘we were ordered to take this car by Carvana,'" Berjis told ABC7.
Upon returning to the DMV for answers, Berjis reported that officials took possession of his original title. According to ABC7, a DMV employee admitted that paperwork from a previous owner might have been overlooked during the title transfer, leading to the erroneous release of a lien and the issuance of an invalid title.
The LAPD is currently investigating the case as potential fraud. However, Berjis indicated that the seller had used a false identity and fraudulent documents, complicating efforts to locate the individual responsible.
Representatives for the DMV told ABC7 that they could not comment due to the ongoing investigation. Carvana had not responded to the news outlet's request for comment at the time of reporting.
Berjis hopes that Carvana will either return the Mercedes or refund his $58,000. The loss of his savings, accumulated over four years of high school, may force him to postpone his college education.
"I feel like I’ve lost all hope," Berjis told ABC7. "It was a big amount of money that I had saved up over the last four years of high school, which was, you know, all meant to go to the goal of going to college and so that was the end game for it and it will definitely delay that and hold it back."