HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Thousands of vehicles may have received fraudulent passing inspection reports as part of an alleged organized crime operation that investigators say was valued at more than $1 million.<\/p>\n
Court records show four men are accused of operating a mobile fraudulent vehicle inspection network, using vehicle analyzers moved between locations to generate passing inspection reports for vehicles that were never properly tested.<\/p>\n
Two of the four men linked to the alleged operation are now behind bars, including Marlon Rivas, 22, and Justin Goulet, 29.<\/p>\n
According to court records, the Texas Department of Public Safety investigation dates back to May and centers on vehicle inspection stations and equipment known as vehicle analyzers. The machines plug into a vehicle’s computer system and are used as part of the inspection process.<\/p>\n
Investigators believe the four men had different roles in the operation.<\/p>\n
According to court records, the group moved vehicle analyzers away from the inspection stations where they were registered and took them to other locations, where they were allegedly used to generate fraudulent passing inspection reports.<\/p>\n
In one case, DPS investigators said an analyzer was found at a location on Viceroy Drive even though records showed the machine was registered to an inspection station on Mykawa Road.<\/p>\n
Employees at the Mykawa location denied any involvement this week and said that, despite signage outside the business, they had not conducted vehicle inspections in months.<\/p>\n
Court records state that the alleged ringleader, who has a warrant for his arrest, communicated with Rivas by text and directed him to move analyzers between locations.<\/p>\n
Investigators allege Goulet served as the group’s technology expert and tended to the equipment used in the operation.<\/p>\n
During Goulet’s court appearance, a hearing officer described the operation and Goulet’s alleged role.<\/p>\n
“According to the allegations, you are the defendant in the group providing the technology that allows them to do it,” he said.<\/p>\n
Investigators believe the group tampered with approximately 24,000 inspection records in just one month, an average of about 800 records a day.<\/p>\n
The allegations involve real vehicles receiving passing inspection reports regardless of whether they would have actually passed an inspection.<\/p>\n
A DPS agent estimated the monetary value of the allegedly fraudulent documents at between $1.2 million and $2.4 million.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement refers to this type of fraudulent vehicle inspection scheme as “clean scanning.”<\/p>\n
So far, Rivas and Goulet are the only two of the four men arrested in connection with this investigation. They are charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. Court records indicate the men linked to the operation have previously faced similar allegations.
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