Sgt. Game Warden Jonathan Griffin - Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

IAMI 2022 INVESTIGATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

It all started with a mechanic selling jet skis without a boat dealers license. Just an innocent problem right? I mean, they are just jet skis and the mechanic probably needed space in his lot and wanted to make a little extra coin without having to go through that bureaucratic process of things like paying taxes. No harm, no foul.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department office outside Galveston got all too familiar with a customer. They reported to our investigator that an individual had been frequenting their office titling an unusual amount of jet skis in his name. They were sure he didn’t have a license, and the purchase price of the skis were always well below market value. When questioned, he replied he was 
but a simple jet ski mechanic buying skis that needed work and re-powering – a simple flipping operation to make a quick buck.

Our investigator monitored the titling activity closely. The jet skis were late models purchased from other states for only a few hundred dollars each. In addition, many were transferred from the suspect to new owners within a very short time (too short for them to be completely repowered). Some of the individuals who sold the jet skis to this suspect confirmed to our investigator that the jet skis were not in seaworthy, running order at the time of the sale. The story turns to right here in the State of Florida where a county tax official contacted our investigator informing him that two Texas residents had applied for titles on 5 used jet skis purchased in multiple states. One of those individuals was the suspect under investigation, the other…his neighbor. Working with a Florida FWC investigator it was uncovered that the two suspects had a total of 25 jet skis in Florida.

Our investigator, along with some colleagues, visited two jet ski rental companies in Canyon Lake, TX as titling records showed the companies purchased a total 6 jet skis from the two suspects. Five skis were located, and, with permissions of the current owners, were inspected. The HIN plates had all been removed, and replaced with fraudulent plates matching the HIN listed on the titles. The confidential HIN’s were located, and those too had been replaced with fraudulent HIN plates. Not to be deterred, our investigator used ISO shipping records, registration records, contacts at Bombardier, and ghost registration numbers to positively identify the true identity of the 5 jet skis. It was determined that all 5 skis were stolen from Galveston and Harris Counties. In addition, the rental companies had trailers purchased from the suspects, that were also determined to be stolen.

Over the next several months, our investigator located and inspected as many of the jet skis touched by the two suspects as possible. From Texas, to Alabama, to Florida, our investigator, and other law enforcement colleagues, had inspected a total of 26 jet skis and 1 boat, all but two contained false HIN plates, and were identified as stolen. The thefts occurred between August of 2017 to July of 2020 from six different Texas Counties. This was a serious, organized theft ring, targeting vessels and skis stored behind private residences and in leased storage facilities. Property recovered, our investigator turned his attention to building the case against the two suspects. Working with Texas Parks and Wildlife Marine Theft Investigators, along with the Galveston County Auto-Crimes Taskforce, a third suspect was identified, and tracking and phone warrants were obtained and executed. Our investigator used that information to uncover key details of how the theft ring was operating, including details on the usage of 3-D printers to manufacture fraudulent HIN plates.

The work paid off - In June 2021 all three suspects were charged and arrested. Two 2nd degree Felony theft and three 1st degree Felony Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity charges are pending in Galveston County.
 

Let’s run down our Investigator of the Year’s scorecard:
•  31 recovered stolen vessels and trailers at a value of more than $250,000.00 in 3 States
•  26 additional jet skis titled to the suspects still being investigated for recovery
•  3 arrests
•  5 felony charges

Please join me in congratulating the 2022 Investigator of the Year, from Texas Parks and Wildlife Marine Theft Unit, Sargent Game Warden Jonathan Griffin