2023 NCRC IAATI Annual Conference

Day 1 - Monday, May 1, 2023

1400 - Registration

1600 - Mall Of America, Behind the Scenes Tour – Advance Registration

1900 - Presidents Reception

2000 - NCRC Social Event

Day 2 – Tuesday, May 2, 2023

0700 Registration

0900 Opening Remarks – Sheriff Dawanna Witt “Why Auto Theft Matters”

Organized Auto Theft

May 2, 0920-1030
70 minutes
- Analyst Matthew Seifert, United States Border Patrol
Case Study: Learn how a group of mostly foreign nationals used stolen identities to obtain authentic driver’s licenses and then take those fraudulently obtained driver’s licenses to automobile dealerships to purchase millions of dollars in high end cars. The titles on those vehicles were then “washed” and the cars were exported from the United States. Of course, the loans were never paid. Oh, and this all happened in the Midwest. This case all started with a patrol officer taking a report and investigator following up, which lead to a large multi-state investigation involving several states, local and federal agencies.

The KIA Boys

May 2, 1045 – 1145
60 minutes
- Sgt. Daniel Knitter, Milwaukee PD
- Analyst Jessica Hintz, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office
- Various, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office
The Kia Boys trend began in Milwaukee in the fall of 2021. This evolved into “the Kia Challenge” where subjects, often juveniles, steal Kia and Hyundai vehicles to post video of their thefts on social media, which has fueled the rapid increase in these thefts. So far, some cities have been hit extremely hard, whereas others have been largely untouched. Unfortunately, when the epidemic does hit, it hits fast and hard. This presentation will discuss how the crime occurs, has evolved and investigative techniques to address it.

Chop and Body Shop Fraud

May 2, 1300 – 1430
90 Minutes
- SIU Jason Keller, Farm Bureau Insurance
Body shop fraud is an everyday occurrence and what better way to hide a “chop shop” than in plain sight! This session will provide an overview of the problem and teach investigators how to identify, document and investigate these cases. In addition to the outright theft of a vehicle and using stolen parts, other illegal activities include staged crashes, damage enhancement and improper repairs. Examples of all issues identified will be provided and shown along with success stories.

Intro to VIN Cloning, Counterfeiting and Title Fraud **LE Only**

May 2, 1300 – 1600
165 Minutes
- SA Andrew DeRungs, Commerce Fraud Bureau
- George Baker, Global Security Lead, General Motors
- Mike Lewis, Stellantis
This is a basic, first level course for patrol officers, investigators, and supervisory personnel. The course and its content are designed to give law enforcement exposure to, and a better understanding of, common and somewhat uncommon practices of fraudulent counterfeiting, cloning and titling of motor vehicles. Topics of discussion will also include common misconceptions, crimes and red flags commonly overlooked by law enforcement, and resources available to you. Use of additional resources such as CarFax, NMVTIS and ISO will also be covered. Awareness and detection, through investigation to appropriate charging will be covered.

Stationary LPR’s to Combat Financial Crimes

May 2, 1445 – 1600
75 minutes
- Sgt. Troy Denneson, Minnetonka Police
- Analyst Supervisor Garith Scherck, Minnetonka Police
More and more vehicles are stolen for the purpose of committing other crimes. What happens when you place a few license plate readers in a target rich retail area, throw in a pole cam to monitor alerts and have officers eager to respond? One agency will review their system and success of intercepting multiple offenders using stolen vehicles to commit shoplifting, along with credit card, check and other fraud. This case study will review the equipment and techniques used in the successful program. Learn if this is something you might want to bring to your community and how to set it up.

Accessing and Analyzing Infotainment and Telematics Data for Auto Theft Investigations

May 2, 1600 – 1700
60 Minutes
- AG Speak, Berla
With over 1.5 billion vehicles on the road, the need to acquire and analyze user data from vehicle systems has become a critical part of investigations. A vehicle’s infotainment and telematics systems are capable of capturing and storing thousands of pieces of data about its occupants, location and events while in operation. Whatever the investigative case at hand, the data now stored in vehicles is crucial to gaining additional information that may not be available by other means. This data within the vehicle tells a story. The story may include the number of people in the car, phone calls made by the connected device(s) or even the vehicle’s built-in phone device, internet activity of occupants before and leading up to an event, driving speeds and styles, whether or not the lights were turned on; and in some instances, interval odometer readings. Being able to identify contacts that are not yet known to the investigator,
locations and routes travelled prior to and during an event of interest and phone calls made on attached mobile devices can all provide critical information to take an investigation to the next desired level. With days, weeks and months of data, a vehicle can hold the keys to a quick and successful resolution of an investigation. The presentation will include a comprehensive overview of what data can be acquired from infotainment and telematics systems within the vehicle, an in-depth discussion on the non-destructive methods to acquire and analyze it, real-life case studies at local and national levels and a discussion on the OEMs currently supported by our vehicle forensics tool kit.

Vehicle Give Ups and Insurance Related Auto Theft

May 2, 1600 – 1700
60 Minutes
- Tracy Thompson, Esq., Deputy Director, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
We all know that vehicle theft can result in serious damage and harm. However, what happens when the car owner is complicit in the theft? People have all sorts of reasons for wanting to get rid of their car, but often, the motive is financial. Claimants may intentionally damage their vehicle, leave it in an area where they hope it will be stolen or make arrangements for their car to “disappear,” known as “auto give-ups.” While some of these offenses are isolated, many are sophisticated schemes designed to defraud insurance companies out of millions of dollars. The presentation will include a discussion of the nature of these activities, a discussion of the more common motives, red flags for police and insurance professionals and tools and techniques for approaching these types of investigations.

Day 3 - Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Prosecution and Intent

May 3, 0900-1030
90 Minutes
- Patrick McCarty, Assistant Ramsey County Attorney & Dedicated Auto Theft Charging Prosecutor
How do we prove a car is stolen, particularly when the driver has the keys? What about the passengers? What are the best charges to bring and what considerations go through a prosecutor’s mind. This course will focus on charging considerations, how a prosecutor’s office might want to review auto theft cases for consistency and working with law enforcement for successful case outcomes.

Programmer and High-Tech Theft Tools

May 3, 0900-1030
90 Minutes
- Officer Sandy Hernden, Warren Police Department
Although having the keys might be the most common method to steal a vehicle, a determined auto thief doesn’t need the keys or a tow truck if they have the right tools to reprogram a car in
seconds. The course will review some of the recent trends related to more of these high-tech cases, including key reprograming and relay attacks. Students will learn how to identify the tools, methods and investigative techniques when such devices have been used to steal vehicles.

The Juvenile Auto Theft Problem – A Different Approach

May 3, 1045 – 1200
75 minutes
- Elizabeth Lamin, Assistant Ramsey County Attorney & Youth Auto Theft Focused Deterrence Prosecutor
A few juvenile and young adults are disproportionally responsible for the majority of auto thefts. With an incredibly low clearance rate and minimal consequences, a group of law enforcement officials in Minnesota are trying something different. Identifying these potentially chronic offenders early on and interacting with them on a regular basis through collaboration and community-based responses. This is not a diversion program, but rather an approach that employs a focused deterrence strategy to provide a supported path for those who want to change, and reserve traditional consequences only for situations where group-involved serious violence persists. This provides a model framework for the project team along with incorporating a custom notification design framework for the targeted activities of this grant proposal.

Electric and Autonomous Vehicles – Issues for LE

May 3, 1045 – 1200
75 minutes
- George Baker, Global Security Lead, General Motors
As we move towards more electric and autonomous vehicles (EVs/AVs) on our roadways, threat actors will undoubtedly steal or commit crimes in them. Law enforcement agencies are interested in understanding the changes they can expect as conventional ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles are replaced by these next generation products. Learn how EVs are different from their ICE counterparts, how GM and other manufacturers are ramping up to meet EV demand, how theft methods and investigative techniques are expected to evolve with EVs (and eventually, with Avs), how a fleet of EVs would affect police operations and more!

So You Think You Can’t Investigate an Export Fraud Case?

May 3, 1300 – 1430
90 minutes
- SSA Chris Huhn, Commerce Fraud Bureau, HSI Task Force Officer
Just because a car has been “exported” doesn’t mean you do not have or cannot investigate a case. In this course, learn the steps you should take to start such an investigation, resources you should check to try and determine the location of a vehicle, how to use various court orders and search warrants to further your investigation and how federal agencies such as
Homeland Security Investigation and Customs and Boarder Protection can assist. An examination of the different possible strategies you can take, such as using CI’s, UC’s and t3 orders will be discussed.

Dealership Theft – How to Steal a Car with Just a Pen

May 3, 1300 – 1430
90 minutes
- Sgt. Darren Schlosser, Houston Police Auto Theft Division
Sergeant Schlosser has created a Vehicle Fraud Initiative that focuses on dealership personnel training, Dealer Alert Bulletins, and Rapid Response to Fraud-in-Progress situations when criminals are actively inside a dealership presenting fraudulent ID’s while attempting to purchase vehicles. This presentation teaches about three primary areas of vehicle finance fraud: Document Fraud, Identity Theft and Synthetic Identity. The training will also include tips for Dealership Best Practices to help prevent fraud. Sergeant Schlosser will then discuss how he developed the successful partnership with the dealership industry that has yielded great results battling fraud.

Dealer and Finance Fraud

May 3, 1445 – 1600
75 minutes
- Julie Ohlhaut, Fraud Investigator, Ally Financial
Case Study: Learn how a gentleman from Dubai deceived an elderly woman from the Midwest to believe they were in love, such that, he was able to convince her to finance multiple vehicles that were then shipped to him overseas. Quick action by Ally Financial, NICB and law enforcement allowed them to intercept several of the vehicles before they made it to the intended destination and minimized the loss and harm done.

Patrol Investigations and Responsibilities

May 3, 1445 – 1600
75 minutes
- SA Glen McCarty, Commerce Fraud Bureau
Patrol officers are integral to auto theft investigations. They take the initial reports and often recover stolen vehicles; but, the fact is most officers will only take stolen vehicle reports or recover a few vehicles in a year. This course will cover the expectations for patrol officers and provide some suggestions to work these cases more effectively. Initial response to these cases often determines the direction of the case. Officers will receive guidance to basic investigation, asking the right questions, proper documentation, directed patrol and processing vehicles for evidence.

Analyst and Prosecution Roundtable

May 3, 1600 – 1700
60 minutes
The prosecutor’s office can be a wealth of information to better help understand the auto theft problem in your community. Often the information they have can be different that what is gathered by the police department. Legal staff and analysts will meet to discuss material they gather and how they can work together to better understand, identify trends and address the auto theft problem.

NICB, SIU and Police

May 3, 1600 – 1700
60 minutes
- SA Barb Rambo, NICB
NICB and how they work with law enforcement can vary across the nation. Sometimes law enforcement is skeptical to trusting those outside of their office and reluctant to ask for help. In the state of Illinois, an NICB Special Agent is imbedded with their state auto theft task forces. Learn how NICB can be an asset to your investigations. How their network of working with insurers can allow them to get information you might have difficulty obtaining. Learn how you can get access to ClaimSearch for a wealth of information to help your investigations. In addition, NICB agents are often the only experts in your area who can do things such as locating a hidden VIN or identify a vehicle through other means.

Day 3 – Thursday, May 4, 2023

Catalytic Converter Theft

May 4, 0900-1030
90 Minutes
- SA Joseph Boche, Commerce Fraud Bureau, IAATI Board of Directors
Check in on the status of the problem in 2022. What are some options you can implement in your community to deter these thefts. Learn about Minnesota’s newly passed law (modeled after IAATI’s six points and model legislation) and how you might be able to use it to help address this epidemic in your community.

Carjacking – A Federal Case

May 4, 1045 – 1200
75 Minutes
- Thomas Calhoun-Lopez, Assistant United States Attorney
What can make a carjacking a “Federal” case? Learn when a carjacking offense violates federal law and when there is an advantage to taking the case “Federal.” What considerations does the US Attorney’s Office have in taking a case. How do you even get them to consider a case?
Who should you reach out to? Learn some tips and important considerations for your investigation.