HOUSTON — Brionte Shurn recovered his stolen 2018 Toyota Camry in Houston after it was rented with a fake ID and sold using a forged title. The incident prompted a police investigation into title fraud involving a family that had unknowingly purchased the vehicle.

Shurn owns a private car rental company in Houston called Easy Rentals. He rented the 2018 Toyota Camry to a person who identified herself as Jasmine Williams. The renter used a fake ID to complete the transaction.

"To me it seemed like a normal instance. I rented out my Toyota Camry, 2018 Toyota Camry. I rented it out to what I believed was — Jasmine Williams is how she presented herself," Shurn said.

The renter used a fake ID to rent the vehicle. The renter failed to return the vehicle and stopped communicating. The renter failed to return the vehicle and stopped communicating after two days. Shurn activated a kill switch on the vehicle via a tracker. Two days of non-communication, I decided to drive to the location of the car. He located the stolen Toyota Camry in the driveway of a family in Houston.

"Two days of non-communication, I decided to drive to the location of the car. All cars of mine are activated with trackers, kill switches and stuff like that. I did activate the kill switch," he said.

The family in possession of the car had purchased it four days earlier for $7,000. They possessed a forged title for the vehicle. The family did not speak English and was unaware of the fraud. "I hate to hear that, because this is my car," Shurn said.

Shurn called 911, and police officers recovered the vehicle from the family. Police stated they would investigate the incident as a case of title fraud and theft.

"I called 911. 911 was able to help me recover my vehicle. They had a title. They presented police officers with a title to a car that I owned," he said.

"The police told me that they will investigate, that it is a serious issue. It’s a title fraud issue, a serious issue, theft."

Harris County Constable Precinct 4 stated that fake titles are common in the Houston area. Harris County recommends matching the owner’s ID to the car title when purchasing a vehicle privately. The county also recommends completing private car transactions at a tax office to avoid fraud.

The Better Business Bureau offers several recommendations for car owners. The bureau advises using hardwired GPS trackers that cannot be easily removed. It also recommends that car owners visually match the person picking up the car with the physical driver’s license provided.

The Better Business Bureau recommends car owners avoid private, cash-only rentals. Additionally, the bureau recommends that car owners notify police immediately if a car is sold or stolen.