Warsaw Couple Faces Charges In Odometer Altering
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
After a bust by the Indiana State Police Wednesday, a Warsaw couple faces multiple felony charges for their alleged involvement in a used vehicle sales scam.
Investigators say Karen N. Gottschalk, 37, and Chad A. Gottschalk, 38, both of 2028 S. Maple Run, Warsaw, allegedly tampered with odometers, forged titles and documents and misrepresented sales to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles for at least 100 vehicles throughout the United States.
Police went to Grossnickle Eye Center Wednesday morning and took Karen Gottschalk into custody. She faces seven counts of forgery (Class C felonies), two counts of theft (Class D felonies) and two counts of odometer altering/odometer fraud (Class D felonies). Indiana State Police Sgt. Lou Brown said Karen Gottschalk was cooperating with police Wednesday morning and answering questions for investigators.
Karen Gottschalk was booked into the Kosciusko County jail at 1:14 p.m. Wednesday on two counts of check forgery. Her bond was set at $20,000.
Chad Gottschalk was not home Wednesday when police arrived to execute a search warrant, and he was believed to be in North Carolina picking up a vehicle. Police thought he would return last night, however, as of this morning he was not in the area. Once Chad Gottschalk returns, police plan to arrest him.
According to the Indiana State Police, the Gottschalks reportedly were operating an elaborate scam involving the purchase of luxury vehicles over the Internet.
The Gottschalks allegedly purchased luxury vehicles with high mileage then turned back the odometers or replaced the odometers with one purchased on the Internet or in a junkyard.
Once the odometers were altered or replaced, the vehicles were sold for nearly 100 percent profit.
Police also suspect the Gottschalks of "washing" vehicle titles by using chemicals to erase ink from them and making fraudulent bills of sale to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles with lower purchase prices to decrease the amount of sales taxes.
Chad Gottschalk reportedly purchased the vehicles on eBay, then replaced or altered the odometers and sold them for a large profit.
The cars were sold to unsuspecting people all over the country, police said. Police still are going over records found in the Gottschalk residence to determine people who purchased the altered vehicles. Some of the vehicles may have been purchased from Warsaw Sport and Import.
One man from New Jersey bought a vehicle that had an odometer reading of 53,000 miles when the vehicle actually had more than 200,000 miles on it.
Wednesday afternoon a local locksmith was called to the residence to open a safe found inside.
Several police also were inside the residence Wednesday collecting computers to be taken to the Indiana State Police Cyber Investigations Unit for processing.
The arrests are a result of an investigation led by Jerry Hults, an investigator with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and a retired Indiana State Police officer.
"The BMV did most of the footwork on everything in this case," Brown said. Now police and BMV officials will follow the paper trail to see how may vehicles were involved.
The Gottschalks have two children at home who will be taken care of by a grandmother while Karen and Chad Gottschalk are in custody.
Police say none of the vehicles were purchased illegally and none are believed to have been stolen. The illegal activity allegedly occurred after the cars were picked up by the Gottschalks.
Chad Gottschalk was the former owner of Warsaw Sport and Import, which was shut down by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles a few years ago. According to Brown, Gottschalk has been under investigation off and on for various incidents since 1999. In 2004, he was arrested for fraud and entered a plea bargain for the charges.
The incident remains under investigation and more arrests are possible.
The Indiana State Police, Warsaw Police Department, Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and Kosciusko County Prosecutor's Office assisted with the investigation of the case. [[In-content Ad]]
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After a bust by the Indiana State Police Wednesday, a Warsaw couple faces multiple felony charges for their alleged involvement in a used vehicle sales scam.
Investigators say Karen N. Gottschalk, 37, and Chad A. Gottschalk, 38, both of 2028 S. Maple Run, Warsaw, allegedly tampered with odometers, forged titles and documents and misrepresented sales to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles for at least 100 vehicles throughout the United States.
Police went to Grossnickle Eye Center Wednesday morning and took Karen Gottschalk into custody. She faces seven counts of forgery (Class C felonies), two counts of theft (Class D felonies) and two counts of odometer altering/odometer fraud (Class D felonies). Indiana State Police Sgt. Lou Brown said Karen Gottschalk was cooperating with police Wednesday morning and answering questions for investigators.
Karen Gottschalk was booked into the Kosciusko County jail at 1:14 p.m. Wednesday on two counts of check forgery. Her bond was set at $20,000.
Chad Gottschalk was not home Wednesday when police arrived to execute a search warrant, and he was believed to be in North Carolina picking up a vehicle. Police thought he would return last night, however, as of this morning he was not in the area. Once Chad Gottschalk returns, police plan to arrest him.
According to the Indiana State Police, the Gottschalks reportedly were operating an elaborate scam involving the purchase of luxury vehicles over the Internet.
The Gottschalks allegedly purchased luxury vehicles with high mileage then turned back the odometers or replaced the odometers with one purchased on the Internet or in a junkyard.
Once the odometers were altered or replaced, the vehicles were sold for nearly 100 percent profit.
Police also suspect the Gottschalks of "washing" vehicle titles by using chemicals to erase ink from them and making fraudulent bills of sale to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles with lower purchase prices to decrease the amount of sales taxes.
Chad Gottschalk reportedly purchased the vehicles on eBay, then replaced or altered the odometers and sold them for a large profit.
The cars were sold to unsuspecting people all over the country, police said. Police still are going over records found in the Gottschalk residence to determine people who purchased the altered vehicles. Some of the vehicles may have been purchased from Warsaw Sport and Import.
One man from New Jersey bought a vehicle that had an odometer reading of 53,000 miles when the vehicle actually had more than 200,000 miles on it.
Wednesday afternoon a local locksmith was called to the residence to open a safe found inside.
Several police also were inside the residence Wednesday collecting computers to be taken to the Indiana State Police Cyber Investigations Unit for processing.
The arrests are a result of an investigation led by Jerry Hults, an investigator with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and a retired Indiana State Police officer.
"The BMV did most of the footwork on everything in this case," Brown said. Now police and BMV officials will follow the paper trail to see how may vehicles were involved.
The Gottschalks have two children at home who will be taken care of by a grandmother while Karen and Chad Gottschalk are in custody.
Police say none of the vehicles were purchased illegally and none are believed to have been stolen. The illegal activity allegedly occurred after the cars were picked up by the Gottschalks.
Chad Gottschalk was the former owner of Warsaw Sport and Import, which was shut down by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles a few years ago. According to Brown, Gottschalk has been under investigation off and on for various incidents since 1999. In 2004, he was arrested for fraud and entered a plea bargain for the charges.
The incident remains under investigation and more arrests are possible.
The Indiana State Police, Warsaw Police Department, Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and Kosciusko County Prosecutor's Office assisted with the investigation of the case. [[In-content Ad]]