Two arrested in scheme to register vehicles to fake companies

Two southeastern Indiana immigrants have been arrested, accused of setting up fake businesses to make it possible for those unable to buy or register a vehicle to do so.

According to the Indiana State Police, 50-year-old Jony Zavala and 40-year-old Maria Bonilla of Clarksville, have been arrested. Zavala allegedly registered 29 corporations in recent years for what appeared to be fake businesses. He then allowed people to buy vehicles through the corporations and register and title them to the corporate entity. Troopers say that after the Indiana Department of Revenue ordered tax returns be filed on nine of the LLCs the couple were principal member of, they only produced records on two. And those records were incomplete, missing bank statements.

The two were arrested Monday on charges including Racketeering, Theft and Tax Evasion.

Indiana State Police referred to the couple as “unauthorized immigrants.”