This award is presented to new programs or initiatives to enhance/ensure integrity of products/services in a jurisdiction, such as facial recognition systems, security features to a vehicle title, implementation of ALPR, address verification software, etc.

This is a law enforcement agency award and is awarded one per each region and among those, an international winner is selected.

Each agency may submit only ONE entry. 

Criteria for selection:

• Project/program/initiative decreases fraud or fraud risks
• Definitive/measureable outcomes

2023 Winner

International and Region 2

Florida Highway Patrol

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence (BCII) and the Division of Motorist Services, Bureau of Dealer Services (BDS) work extensively with federal, state, and local partners to identify methods being used by criminal organizations to circumvent federal motor vehicle importation guidelines. Some criminal organizations import disassembled motor vehicles then reassemble the parts into motor vehicles and attempt to fraudulently obtain Florida titles and registrations. BDS received a tip from U.S. Customs and Border Protection pertaining to some abnormalities with the importation of a motor vehicle. BDS reviewed the inquiry, found multiple instances of impropriety, and reached out to FHP for assistance with a criminal investigation. It was determined the criminal organization (Florida vehicle dealership owners) forged or intentionally neglected to provide required U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Customs, and Environmental Protection Agency forms associated with the importation of vehicles. The criminal organization sold the illegally titled vehicles across the United States, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. During the investigation over $600,000 dollars of wire transfers were linked to Japanese banks. BCII expanded the investigation and discovered additional methods the criminal organization used to fraudulently obtain motor vehicle titles in Florida, including using fraudulently obtained documents from other states, improper use of temporary license plates, and the use of fraudulent documents ((forged vehicle identification number (VIN) inspections, forged odometer declarations, etc. This initiative resulted in over 240 criminal counts in Florida, to include racketeering, grand theft, uttering forged documents with intent to defraud, criminal use of personal information, and concealing VINs.