Curbstoning
Curbstoning – The act of selling at the curb without benefit of a license.
Consumers who buy from a curbstoner often get saddled with damaged, dangerous, or uninsurable vehicles – by which time the curbstoner is long gone with their cash. Curbstoning is illegal in many states, yet defrauds thousands of unwary consumers every year.
Who is a curbstoner? He/She is an individual who buys vehicles (may be only one) with the intent to sell them for a profit.
- Who is not a licensed motor vehicle dealer
- Does not have a local business license
- Does not pay state taxes
- Does not pay federal taxes
- Does not have any overhead
- Uses property belonging to others for display of vehicles
(Property owners can be held liable for allowing the display) - In many cases “jumps title”, thereby obscuring the identity of the true seller and evading payment of tax and title fees
- Jumping titles is a criminal offense and can be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor, pay a fine not to exceed $2,500, and be sentenced to not more than 12 months in jail
Under recent legislation the law may now be enforced by local police and zoning departments.