Man accused of selling stolen vehicle on Craigslist

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Deputies are looking for more possible victims in an auto sale scam case.

Investigators say Daniel Rocky Christine-Tahi didn't always use his real name when he posted cars for sale on Craigslist. He also used aliases like Luis, Jose and Martin Auto Sales.

"He prayed on folks who liked to have the best car, didn't have the most money, but they could get that car they always wanted," Harris County Deputy Thomas Gilliland said.

Detectives believe there are multiple victims who thought they were getting a good deal when actually they were being scammed. The cars were stolen or rented and the buyers would find out when they went to get a title, their cash was long gone.

"The buyer is out of his money, the car has to be returned back to the rightful owner," Gilliland added.

Christine-Tahi is now charged with fraudulent transfer of a motor vehicle. He was already on probation for theft involving a motor vehicle.

The sheriff's office says consumers should protect themselves. If a deal sounds too good to be true it likely is. When purchasing on a website like Craigslist, they say to find out more about the seller, ask a lot of questions, ask for the license plate number and VIN number as well as the Vehicle Inspection Records. You can look them up at Carfax and on the DPS website.

Christine-Tahi is out on bond but deputies expect to upgrade the charges.