Vicente “Vince” Serrano, owner of ASAP Towing & Storage, is facing charges of grand theft and organized fraud after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) accused him of defrauding the state out of nearly $200,000. An arrest report obtained by
First Coast News
stated that following an audit and a change to police procedures in January, discrepancies were found in the company’s sales documents of vehicles.
During the course of the investigation, which stretched from October 2023 to December 2023, JSO claimed to have uncovered Serrano’s activities, who had failed to report thousands of dollars from the sale of towed vehicles. Florida statutes require the proceeds from the sale of unclaimed vehicles to be deposited with the Clerk of Court. As reported by
Action News Jax
, detectives sifted through 255 sales reports from the years 2020 to 2024 and found that all but three demonstrated signs of fraudulent activity.
When investigators confronted with the discrepancies, Serrano previously told Action News Jax, “They’re not going to find anything,” and added, “Everything that they went through, we gave them, and we have nothing to hide.” This declaration was made after a police raid of his property in July while searching for evidence they suspected he was concealing. Serrano has since turned himself into the authorities on Wednesday morning.
The former president of the Jacksonville Wrecker Association, Marshall Adkison, with 30 years of towing experience, indicated to Action News Jax that Serrano’s charges may evoke little surprise within the industry. “He’s got a buyers fee and a key fee, and we’re not allowed to take that,” Adkison pointed out. The city’s ordinance prohibits these added charges. Furthermore, Serrano is claimed to have instructed an employee to under-report sales, even after she expressed that it was wrong, as the warrant highlighted by
WOKV
reported.
In light of the charges, it’s worth noting the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office had previously severed ties with ASAP Towing in 2023 after allegations surfaced that the company towed more than a dozen cars from apartment complexes without the properties’ approval. It is currently reported that Serrano was released on his recognizance, even as the charges against him remain serious allegations of first-degree felonies.
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