The owner of Tom’s Toys, a former RV dealership in Port Clinton, Ohio, who was charged with selling vehicles without titles in three counties, is set to appear in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court today.
This story by Jon Stinchcomb originally appeared in the Port Clinton News Herald.
Thomas Owens, 43, of Marblehead, was charged with three counts of prohibited acts involving certificates of title, which were each filed through a bill of information earlier this month.
According to court records, the charges allege Owens sold vehicles without providing the purchaser or transferee the title to the vehicle bought from him and did so in Ottawa, Fairfield and Clark counties.
If convicted, Owens could face up to five years in prison and a fine of $5,000 for each of the counts, which are unclassified felonies, according to Ohio law.
In May 2017, Owens was indicted in Ottawa County on two counts of the same prohibited acts involving certificates of titles, and in October was indicted on 15 additional felony counts, including theft, grand theft of a motor vehicle and other charges. According to the indictment, Owens also is alleged to have forged, sold, or unlawfully obtained titles to vehicles.
The civil lawsuit is scheduled for a telephone conference on the status of the case in April.
