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Miracle cars scam


The miracle cars scam was an advance fee fraud that ran from 1997 to 2002. It was one of the largest advance fee frauds in world history, as well as the largest automobile fraud in American history. In its run of just over four years, over 4,000 people were tricked into paying an "advance fee"; in order to receive the “chartable bequest” of a motor vehicle, as required by a "Decedent’s", “Last Will and Testament”. Neither the deceased; his alleged will; or an estate of any kind, ever existed. While over 7,000 "cars", were to be "gifted" and transferred to new owners; no cars existed either and this was a case of affinity fraud targeting Evangelical and Charismatic Christians. In the process the victims were taken for over $21 million.

Robert Gomez was a 19-year-old working as a security guard in Los Angeles, and rooming with his co-worker and friend, James R. Nichols. It was Gomez who first alleged to Nichols that he was the adopted son of John Bowers, a wealthy food company executive living in Texas. Later, Gomez would tell Nichols that this Bowers had died. He asked Nichols to serve as the executor of the Bowers estate. Nichols would also later claim to have on an earlier occasion, actually met Bowers at a country club in Long Beach.

A year after they met, Gomez and Nichols decided that to save money, they would both move into the Carson, California home of Nichols' parents; who were also both longtime members of the Christ Christian Home Missionary Baptist Church of nearby Compton. Soon after their move, (as Nichols' mother would later claim) calls started coming into the Nichols' home from men claiming to be the probate attorney for the Bowers estate, and that they were calling to update the Estate's "executor" (her son James) about the complex legal affairs associated with the estate's disposition, as that disposition was related to Gomez.

Three years later, just before Christmas 1997, the then 23-year-old Gomez stepped into the "discipleship pulpit" of the Christ Christian Home Missionary Baptist Church during the announcements segment of the regular Sunday services. Gomez introduced himself as Bowers' adopted son, and the heir to an estate valued at $411 million. Gomez also announced that Bowers had been a devout Christian, and had left instructions in his will that his estate should "gift" a fleet of 16 low-mileage company and personal cars to fellow believers. While the vehicles were not individually identified by their VINs (vehicle identification numbers) or the serial numbers of their legal titles, they were described by their general types. The vehicles were described as late model leased luxury coupes and sedans (i.e., BMWs, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and Cadillac), now the property of the deceased’s estate. Over the years, they had been used for both personal and company purposes, and had been based around the country for personal and chauffeured company use.


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