A Chattanooga tow company owner has been arrested, accused of being part of a scheme to sell unregistered vehicles.

Chattanooga police have arrested Buddy Frazier Sr. of All About Towing, formerly Absolute Towing, and Winston Gant of Gant’s Motors on charges of fraudulent transfer of a motor vehicle and criminal conspiracy, said Sgt. Jerri Weary, police spokeswoman.

Authorities claim Mr. Frazier was buying cars at auction or at junkyards and never obtaining the proper registration paperwork from the state of Tennessee, said Inspector Glenn Lemley, an investigator for the Chattanooga Police Department’s regulatory bureau.

“Mr. Frazier was not going through the legal process, and he was just turning around selling the cars and not providing titles,” Mr. Lemley said. “The buyers are out of luck. They can’t get them registered.”

The investigator alleges Mr. Frazier would use Mr. Gant’s dealer’s license to buy the vehicles at auction.

Without a title, police and state officials can’t be assured the vehicle isn’t stolen, Mr. Lemley said. In many cases, the vehicles sold by Mr. Frazier were involved in car accidents, then totaled and purchased by an insurance company and condemned to a junkyard, he said.

“He’d buy these wrecked cars and fix them up ... but you have to have a dismantler’s license to do that, and he doesn’t have anything like that,” Inspector Lemley said.

He estimated there are more than a dozen victims in the scheme. Even if Mr. Frazier is convicted, those people won’t be able to continue to drive their vehicles, Mr. Lemley said.

“The cars should have never been sold,” he said. “A reputable dealer will give you the title when the car is paid for, but there was no paperwork with these deals whatsoever.”

Sgt. Weary said police hope that after the public learns of the allegations against Mr. Frazier, more victims will emerge.

She said anyone who has had problems registering vehicles bought from Mr. Gant or Mr. Frazier may contact Mr. Lemley at 643-5318 or the Chattanooga Police Department at 698-2525.

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