Mazda Showroom Defrauds 14 Citizens

According to Hraparak.am, the official representative of the Japanese company Mazda in Armenia, Top Motors, has conducted a scheme over the years that has affected more than a dozen citizens. Approximately 10 years ago, the company sold Mazda vehicles with altered production years. For instance, a 2008 Mazda was sold as a 2010 model.

This fraud was discovered years later when buyers attempted to sell their vehicles, revealing that the production year was fake during the sales registration process. The aim of the forgery was to deceitfully earn more money, as new cars are naturally worth more than older ones. Hence, the company imported unused but older model vehicles, cleared them through customs with new model years, and sold them under the guise of being new.

A comprehensive criminal scheme was in operation, involving not just employees of the showroom but also customs and police officials who turned a blind eye to the vehicle's VIN code data. Information about the production year and other technical specifications of the vehicle is contained in the individual VIN code, which reveals what kind of car it is, its production year, color, engine type, gearbox, etc., when accessed in a special database.

Information about the vehicle's year of manufacture can also be gleaned from its exterior and from the label attached to the seat belts, which specifies the production year. At the Mazda representative office in Armenia, all labels regarding the production year were removed from the vehicles, and in some cases, structural changes were made, such as altering the bumpers.

Vehicles undergo re-styling every 2-3 years, resulting in certain exterior details being modified, such as bumpers, headlights, radiator grilles, and mirrors. Because the company wanted to sell 2-year-old cars as entirely new, parts of the external appearance of these restyled old Mazdas were replaced with new ones to mask their age from unsuspecting buyers. As a result, for instance, a vehicle that has a market value of $24,000-$25,000 was sold by the company for $30,000-$32,000, causing significant financial damage to people.

Considering that many people acquired these cars through loans, they ended up paying not only a higher amount but also interest on that additional sum over the years. Years later, when individuals who bought these vehicles decided to resell them, the traffic police discovered through the VIN code that the production year was different. This could have been revealed at the time of importation and registration, but it appears that the Mazda representative office had agreements with customs and police officiates.

However, such agreements are not eternal, and public servants are not always the same individuals. Violet Grigoryan, one of the citizens who purchased a car from Mazda's showroom and was significantly harmed by this fraud, recounted that they discovered the altered year when selling the car at the traffic police. (The car indicated 2010 instead of 2008). They called showroom director Misak Sargsyan to clarify the situation. They requested an official document certifying that the vehicle was indeed produced in 2010. However, Sargsyan only presented a customs clearance document dated 2010, but no official letter regarding the production year was provided.

When they visited the showroom and confronted Misak Sargsyan, he, described as being in a comfortable position under the protection of OEK president Arthur Baghdasaryan, exhibited an indifferent attitude, making it clear that “do whatever you want, nothing will change.” The case has now reached law enforcement, and a criminal case has been initiated.

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