Single mom says her savings were stolen in vehicle scam

CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - A single mother says she is struggling to get back on her feet after losing her savings in a vehicle scam.

Ashley McCown says she is trying to figure out how she will go to work and make money to support her family after getting scammed.

“After months of saving money to purchase a car, I finally purchased one, and turns out the person who sold me the car sold me a car that didn’t even belong to him but to a deceased person,” McCown explained.

The single mother says she saved up to buy a car for months.

When she saw a 1997 light green Honda Civic listed for $800, she did not hesitate.

“I reached out to him on Facebook Marketplace,” recalls McCown. “I seen that he had a car for sale, and it was in my price range, so I thought, ‘What a good deal.’”

McCown says when she got the car title from Andrew Arbino, she noticed that something wasn’t right.

“The title was altered,” McCown explained. “He had forged a signature of the deceased person’s name, and he had crossed over some information that was written on the title and put my name at the top of it.”

That is when McCown says she contacted Arbino.

“I had a deep conversation with him about how it took me so long to save the money and how it may not be a lot to him, but it was a lot to me,” says McCown. “And I asked him if I could get my money back so that I could continue my search for another vehicle.”

That did not happen.

Police documents show McCown filed a report against Arbino with the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office.

Clinton County Chief Prosecutor Sarah McMahon confirmed that the car Arbino sold to McCown belonged to a person who had committed suicide in August.

McMahon thinks Arbino intentionally sold McCown the stolen vehicle.

Officers have since removed the vehicle from McCown’s possession.

“It’s made me so depressed,” McCown says. “I feel so hopeless. It took me so long to save that money and now with no income coming in, I won’t even be able to save up enough money to get a new vehicle. So, it’s overwhelming.”

McCown says she received several direct messages on social media from people who claim they have fallen victim to Arbino’s scams.

For now, McCown says she is more focused on getting on her feet.

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