Investigators looked for Vehicle Identification Numbers that had been tampered.
Owner Dan Mershon said he was given no advance warning and found investigators outside when he opened at 10 a.m.
“What they told me basically is they were looking for stolen cars,” Mershon said. “They won’t find any.”
The patrol would not discuss the investigation.
Mershon’s specializes in Corvettes and other classic cars.
He sells about 200 cars a year, most of which are sold overseas.
The cars range in price from $60,000 to more than $200,0000.
Investigators executed a search warrant issued by Clark County Municipal Court to search vehicles on the lot and inside the business.
The investigation began in March after a customer complained to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles about an issue with a title, said Lt. Anne Ralston, public information officer for the highway patrol.
That led investigators to look at additional issues.
“The allegation is there could be vehicles there displaying tampered or altered vehicle identification numbers,” Ralston said.
Springfield police, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the National Insurance Crime Bureau are part of the investigation.
Mershon said the vehicle in question was sold 18 years ago and he said he was never contacted. Had someone asked to see the paperwork, he thinks he could have figured out the problem without sending “20 guys in and disrupting my business for a whole day.”
Ralston would not confirm when the car was sold, stating only that it was part of an ongoing investigation.
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