It may be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor
All cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in the United States come with a vehicle identification number, more commonly known as a VIN. A VIN is like a serial number that is used to identify a motor vehicle, or an automobile part, for the purpose of vehicle registration. All motor vehicles have a unique VIN, which appears both on your California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) paperwork and a metal plate that is typically attached to the dashboard on the driver’s side. There are also a number of hidden copies of the VIN in other locations on the car. Law enforcement may use these hidden VINs to identify a vehicle when a VIN has been altered or removed.
A person may alter or tamper with a VIN for a number of reasons, such as to hide the identity of a stolen car in order to sell it. However, as a criminal defense attorney in Santa Ana, CA can explain, if you alter, destroy, or tamper with a VIN, you could be charged with a California crime. The specific charge will depend on your intent when you tamper with the VIN.
First, if you intentionally alter a VIN, you will be charged with a misdemeanor crime. This offense does not require that you have a purpose behind altering the VIN. If you deface, destroy, or alter a VIN, or put a different ID number on it (not assigned by the California DMV), you can be charged with intentionally altering a VIN. The penalty for this crime is up to 1 year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.
Second, if you tamper with a VIN for the purpose of misidentification, you could be charged with either a felony or misdemeanor crime. Under this law, it is a crime to knowingly alter, counterfeit, deface, destroy, disguise, falsify, forge, obliterate or remove a VIN with the intent to misrepresent the identity or prevent the identification of a vehicle or car part for the purpose of sale, transfer, import or export. This crime is a wobbler, which means that it can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. As a misdemeanor, it is punishable by up to 1 year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. As a felony, it is punishable by up to 3 years in county jail and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
The difference between these two crimes lies in the underlying intent. If you tamper with your VIN, but not with the goal of somehow misrepresenting it, then you will be charged with the lower level crime. However, if you tamper with the VIN because you want to misrepresent it in order to sell or transfer the car or cart part, then you will be charged with a higher level offense.
Altering your VIN can have serious consequences. If you are charged with this crime, a skilled criminal defense attorney in Santa Ana, CA can help formulate a strong defense, such as arguing that the VIN was defaced accidentally, or that you did not have an intent to misrepresent the vehicle’s identity.
If you have been charged with this or another crime, the Chambers Law Firm will aggressively advocate for your rights. Reach out to us at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free consultation.
