Lancaster man accused of stealing identities to buy luxury cars sought

LANCASTER, Calif. -- Investigators are trying to track down a Lancaster man who's behind a complex car title scam that involves dozens of victims.

Detectives say they desperately want to catch this man before he hurts more people. Raymond Edwards, a Belizean National, has targeted nearly two dozen victims that officials are aware of.

They say he stole their identities, leaving them with crushing debt. They say he also worked with a woman, Camille Solomon, who officials already have in custody.

Detectives say Edwards steals victims' identities to get car loans for expensive vehicles.

"Mr. Raymond Edwards has stolen the identity of several people not only within the Antelope Valley but as far as Ohio. He would use their identity to purchase high-end exotic vehicles in the range of $100,000," said Deputy Miguel Ruiz of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

While still working under the victims' stolen identity, Edwards would create a fake vehicle title or pink slip showing the vehicle was paid for. He would then use the exotic car as collateral to get quick payday or car title loans for tens of thousands of dollars.

"In other words, create false titles on those vehicles as if he owned the vehicles, even though there were still loans against those vehicles, and collect that money," Ruiz added. "We believe it goes back as far as two years and several hundred thousand dollars that we've proven he's involved in."

Detectives say when they searched Edwards' Lancaster home, they found boxes of documents showing how the man's sophisticated operation worked. What they didn't find was Edwards.

"We currently have about 20 victims that we've identified as far as Ohio. We believe there are other victims out there. We also suspect he's hiding somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area and possibly continuing to do this criminal activity," Ruiz said.

If you can help detectives catch Edwards or if you believe you are a victim, investigators want to hear from you at L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-tips.