Buying or Possessing Vehicles with Altered VIN Numbers

What this law basically means is that it’s illegal for you to buy or possess either more than one vehicle or parts from more than one vehicle when that vehicle or the parts from it have tampered-with VINs, and the vehicle or parts were gotten for the purpose of either a resale or a transfer. As you’ll see with a lot of the laws on the books, the charge of Buying or Possessing Vehicles with Altered VIN Numbers is considered to be a wobbler offense, which basically means that it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. If it ends up getting charged as a misdemeanor, then it’s punished with up to a year in county jail, and/or a fine of up to a thousand dollars. Now if the crime is charged as a felony, then the punishment for it depends on whether you possessed the vehicles or parts or actually purchased them. If you possess these things, the crime is punishable by sixteen months, two or three years in county jail, and/or a fine of up to thirty thousand dollars. Now if you’re purchasing them, the punishment is two, four, or six years in county jail, and/or a fine of up to sixty thousand dollars. Obviously the misdemeanor charge is the preferable one of the two, but even that has a pretty steep penalty, so if there are any defenses that apply to you it’s important that you take these into account when getting into touch with counsel and trying to mount a legal defense.