(Wisconsin) The Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles Dealer and Agent Section has uncovered a growing number of fraud instances against consumers from an influx of out-of-state businesses licensed as wholesale dealers in the state.
In the last two months, 32 wholesale dealer licenses were revoked due to failure to maintain business to maintain business facilities. Other revocations were due to unlicensed retail sales to consumers and false title statements and odometer rollbacks, two of which were rolled back more than six million miles over 64 vehicles.
Behind these fraud incidents are Centralized Dealer Operations (CDOs). CDOs are large facilities that may house several hundred licensed wholesale dealers at the same time within a shared space.
Since 2018, when CDOs first appeared in Wisconsin, the number of wholesale licenses has increased by 1,194%, with more than 90% residing outside the state. A link to report complaints is available HERE.
