A Rio Rico man, Randolph Ezrre, has been indicted by a Grand Jury for acting as a used car dealer without a license. Ezrre has been charged with Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, and 11 counts of Filing a False Tax Return for allegedly failing to pay transaction privilege tax, also known as sales tax, on used car sales in 2017 and 2018.
According to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the Arizona Curbstoning Enforcement Task Force (ACE-TF) detectives conducted an investigation after receiving a lead. Following the lead, detectives discovered multiple used cars listed for sale by the same owner on its website with the same contact phone number.
Detectives discovered through a social media database search, the phone number was associated with approximately 112 other used car ads within that same period. It is alleged that the cars were not for sale by individuals rather marketed by Randolph Ezrre Wholesale Auto Sales.
Ezrre, the owner-operator of Randolph Ezrre Wholesale Auto Sales, is accused of selling the used cars to the public without remitting the tax due on those transactions. For tax years 2017 through 2018, Ezrre allegedly filed false tax returns claiming he had no taxable sales. Ezrre allegedly had approximately $313,145 in taxable sales and would have owed approximately $26,930.47 in taxes to the State of Arizona between 2017 and 2018.
According to ADOT, under ARS 28-4301, a person can only sell, offer to sell, exchange, or negotiate up to six vehicles in any 12 consecutive months without a used motor vehicle license. The sale of the seventh vehicle qualifies them as an unlicensed automobile dealer subject to criminal prosecution. Unlicensed automobile dealers sometimes referred to as “curbers” or “curbstoning” sell vehicles on street corners or vacant lots. Individuals who engage in curbstoning avoid having to comply with the same regulations licensed auto-dealers are required to follow. Consumers can file a complaint on an unauthorized automobile dealer online.