Seattle man accused of stealing 18 cars from Edmonds auction with fake checks

A Seattle man has been accused of stealing 18 cars from an Edmonds auction yard through false checks and fake business records.

The suspect was booked into the Snohomish County Jail on Tuesday morning and is scheduled to appear in Everett District Court at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Detectives said that someone using the identity of a real Pierce County business had applied to join a dealership auction for Kaman Auctions in October 2024, according to the probable cause statement obtained by KING 5.

Suspect won 18 vehicles at auction, checks later bounced

The auction approved the accounts application and set an $80,000 price ceiling. Investigators noted the account later won 18 vehicles at auction at a total price of $72,295 on October 10, 2024.

Later in the day, an anonymous person went to the auction and paid $60,000 by check, according to the probable cause statement. A second check was delivered the following day to pay the remaining $12,295.

People began to arrive and pick up the vehicles on October 10, 11, and 14. By October 15, the auction owner had learned that the checks did not clear. One check returned due to insufficient funds, and the other returned as forged, according to detectives.

Also, that day, four vehicles were taken from the front parking lot at the auction. Interviews by investigators revealed that several of the vehicles were located near Seattle’s Sand Point area.

Seattle Police recovered several vehicles, including a 2006 Nissan Frontier, a 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL, a 2011 BMW X5, and a 2016 Honda Civic.

Investigators believed the suspect had committed several crimes, including organized crime, theft of a motor vehicle, criminal impersonation, forgery, identity theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and unlawful production of financial fraud instruments, according to the probable cause statement obtained by KING 5.

Investigators continued to work on the case through at least March 2025, with the suspect’s arrest coming one year later in March 2026.

Follow Jason Sutich on X. Send news tips here.