Houston-area DMV employee charged in VIN swapping auto-theft scheme
2 people charged in DMV car title scheme
A now former DMV employee is charged in an auto theft scheme, along with her codefendant, in allegedly helping them sell stolen cars to unsuspecting buyers.
HOUSTON - A Houston-area Texas DMV employee and her alleged co-conspirator have been accused in a car title laundering scheme, officials announced Thursday.
DMV employee, another charged
According to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, local Texas DMV employee Carlisha Haywood was charged Wednesday with bribery and two counts of tampering with a government record.
Xavier Goodwin Washington, her alleged co-conspirator, was charged with two counts of tampering with a government record, officials say. Records show he was out on two separate fraud-related bonds at the time of this arrest.
By the numbers:
The charges are second-degree felonies, which are punishable by up to two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
What's next:
They are both due in court on Friday morning.
How the scheme allegedly worked
The backstory:
Haywood and Washington were charged as part of an ongoing joint investigation by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit.
The allegations:
According to the district attorney’s office, authorities discovered an auto theft operation in which people would steal vehicles and then sell them to a good-faith purchaser.
Before selling the vehicles, the conspirators would allegedly switch the stolen vehicle’s VIN with a "clean" VIN from another vehicle of the same make and model.
Washington would allegedly bribe Haywood and exploit her ability to access and print official records as a DMV employee to get certified copies of car titles in order to commit the fraudulent sale, the district attorney’s office says.
What they're saying:
"The people of Harris County deserve to trust that their public institutions serve them—and not criminal organizations that prey on innocent people," said Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare. "Too many Houstonians have been victimized by car theft and fraud. I’m deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers who led this investigation and operation. They have our full support as we continue to root out public corruption with integrity, determination and urgency."
Washington's Fraud pattern
According to court records, Washtington was charged with racketeering in Brazoria County in 2024.
Records show he posted that bond in February 2025 and was then arrested for organized criminal activity and forgery in Harris County just a month later in March.
He posted his $8,000 bond days after being arrested in that case and was out free on both bonds when he was arrested on these most recent charges.
Records show he also completed three and a half years of deferred adjudication for a 2016 robbery by threat.
How do thieves get your VIN?
Investigators have not mentioned how these two suspects stole VIN's in this specific case. But, experts tell us thieves can retrieve them from multiple places, including:
-Emails
-Texts
-The dark web
-Social media photos
"You should treat your VIN number like a credit card or social security number," said tech expert Juan Guevara Torres.
He says thieves will zoom into social media photos to steal a VIN, hack into your email or even buy it off the dark web if you've submitted your VIN to certain creditors.
"Use a service like Carfax or any other services before buying a car," he said. Torres explained that services like those can verify VIN numbers, so you don't have to risk buying a stolen vehicle.
The Source: The information in this article comes from the Harris County District Attorney's Office.