Investigators later located Bangma’s truck at a north Minneapolis residence, along with several other vehicles showing signs of odometer tampering.
NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — Five relatives with ties to Romania are accused of running a used-car fraud scheme across the Twin Cities that involved faking mechanical problems, rolling back odometers, and reselling vehicles for inflated prices, according to court documents.
The suspects, identified in filings as Ilie Tudor, Ionuţ Tudor, Florin Tudor, Vasile Tudor and David Tudor, are accused of the scheme.
According to the complaint, police caught wind of the scheme when a man in St. Croix County listed his blue Toyota Tundra for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
Home surveillance video shows three men arriving to inspect the truck. While one distracted the seller, Gerritt Bangma, another allegedly opened the hood and poured oil into the radiator to mimic a major engine issue.
The men then pointed out the “oil in the coolant,” convincing Bangma that the truck needed significant repairs.
“It was very it was very discreet, just completely unaware that they did it,” said Bangma. “And to the point where, yeah, I didn’t believe it had happened until I saw the video myself.”
He dropped his price by a few thousand dollars. The truck had roughly 240,000 miles at the time.
Bangma said he did what he could to prevent a scheme. He had a friend there, and he had tools to check the legitimacy of cash.
Bangma later reviewed his security footage and saw what happened. Soon after, he found his Tundra listed again on Facebook Marketplace — this time showing about 100,000 fewer miles and advertised as a “well-maintained jewel.”
Investigators later located Bangma’s truck at a north Minneapolis residence, along with several other vehicles showing signs of odometer tampering.
Police say the alleged schemers then moved their cars to a different property near Como, where a search warrant was executed.
A search of the property uncovered six vehicles with altered mileage, loose odometer clusters, a mileage-adjustment tool, and $53,000 in cash.
During interviews, one suspect allegedly admitted to swapping an entire dashboard to lower mileage on a Ford Transit van. Another said his wife must have hidden tens of thousands of dollars in cash as officers arrived.
Authorities say they believe none of the defendants remain in Minnesota, and the state is seeking warrants for their arrest.
“I just don’t want it to happen to anyone else,” Bangma said.
Bangma eventually got his truck back and later resold it for what he described as a fair price.