WEB-ONLY
16 years and lots of litigation later, DOJ puts auto fraud database online
February 4, 2009
WASHINGTON — After 16 years and litigation by three consumer safety groups, the U.S. Department of Justice has made an online database available to states and consumers to discover automobile fraud and to provide new tools for law enforcement to investigate fraud, theft and other crimes involving vehicles.
The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) was made available for consumers on Jan. 30 and is accessible through third-party, fee-for-service Web sites. The Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance administers NMVTIS in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The system allows state motor vehicle administrators to verify and exchange titling and brand data and provides law enforcement officials, consumers and others with critical information regarding vehicle histories. Consumers now have access to the vehicle's brand history, odometer data and basic vehicle information and can be redirected to the current state of record to access the full title record if available. Law enforcement can track the vehicle's status from state to state by accessing the system directly.
Last year, Public Citizen, joined by Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS) and Consumer Action, sued the Department of Justice in federal court in San Francisco, asking the court to order the government to implement the NMVTIS, which Congress had required 16 years ago.
In September, the court told DOJ it had until Jan. 30 to make the information available on the Internet and to issue a rule requiring states, insurance companies and junk yards to report safety information.
The information to be made available on Jan. 30 is still incomplete and covers less than two-thirds of U.S. vehicles, according to Public Citizen. That is because insurers and junk yards have until March 31 to begin reporting data. Currently, 10 states are not reporting vehicle data at all, while two states that are — New York and California — are attempting to prevent public access to that data.
Public Citizen has sent letters to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Governor David Paterson asking them to comply with the federal law and court order. Public Citizen also sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that he address the issue.
"We're encouraged by the Justice Department's actions and look forward to working with the DOJ to make sure that consumers from every state can access this potentially lifesaving information," said Deepak Gupta, the Public Citizen lawyer who brought the lawsuit. "Congress mandated this database in 1992, and it's about time it became a reality."
Ultimately, with full participation from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, NMVTIS will prevent stolen motor vehicles, including clones, from entering into interstate commerce, protect states and consumers from fraud, reduce the use of stolen vehicles for illicit purposes including fundraising for criminal enterprises, and provide consumer protection from unsafe vehicles, according to DOJ.
Most Popular Headlines
- Top ABA staffers exit amid reorganization
- Daschle departing Alston for DLA Piper
- Unanimous 7th Circuit finds mezuzah removal worth a lawsuit
- Employers unsure about medical marijuana
- Obama shakes up counsel's office
- The 2009 NLJ 250
- New approaches to law firm recruitment
- Hasan case to test military justice system
- 'He had the ability to do anything'
- No quiet time for new justice
