4 charged in Harris County for accepting bribes to give fake vehicle registrations

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Four people have been charged for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for providing people with vehicle registrations and title transfers without inspections, proof of insurance, and other vehicle requirements.

Harris County Constable Alan Rosen's Office reports Renisha Wilkines, Oswaldo "Osvaldo" Perez, Adriana De La Rosa, and Sarah Anderson have all been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.

Vehicle registration scheme uncovered in Harris County

The backstory:

According to investigators, they believe the group's scheme ran from November 2023 to April 2024, but it possibly ran longer. It was discovered after officials of another Texas county tax office saw a TikTok advertisement related to the scheme.

Wilkins and Anderson were employees with the Harris County Tax Office, while Perez and De La Rosa were owners of vehicle title-service company, Bella's Multiservice.

The title-service company would use TikTok and Facebook to advertise they could quickly get paperwork processed for customers without the "BS" of meeting vehicle requirements, court records claim. Officials of another Texas tax office saw a TikTok advertisement and contacted state authorities. The authorities then contacted the Special Investigations Unit at the Harris County Tax Office.

Investigators say tens of thousands of dollars in bribes were paid by Perez and De La Rosa to the tax office employees in exchange for processing vehicle registrations and title transfers without valid proof of insurance, emissions testing and inspections, and residency requirements.

Wilkins and Anderson were fired from the tax office in April 2024. Court records claim they would also change the vehicle owner information to show Harris County addresses and zip codes to process fraudulent vehicle registration transactions.

At this time, Wilkins, Anderson, and De La Rosa have all been arrested. Perez remains a fugitive, Harris County authorities state.

What you can do:

Anyone with information on Perez's whereabouts is asked to contact Constable Pct. One at 713-755-5200 and ask for the Special Investigations Unit at the tax office.

What they're saying:

"This involves public corruption by those who violated the people’s trust in government and abused their positions to line their own pockets," Harris County Constable Precinct One Alan Rosen said. "This scheme was brazen and the schemers will now face justice."

What's next:

Harris County Constable Rosen's office says each of the four defendants faces two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity. They are first-degree felonies each punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000.