Wesley Sharp, a Trussville, Alabama driver, decided to try selling his Jeep Wrangler online for $25,000. He had three payments left on his loan, but it was time for him and the Jeep to part ways. Nearly immediately, Ketwain Meredith, a buyer from Tennessee, indicated he wanted to drive out and look at it.
Sharp was cautious and decided to meet the buyer in a neutral location.
“We met in a public area with cameras around,” he told ABC. Meredith wanted to buy the Jeep nearly immediately and wrote him a cashier’s check from a bank in Nashville. Sharp cashed it and went about his day.
Sharp received a call from his bank three days later saying the check was fake. He quickly filed a police report, and police identified Meredith as the culprit, though he hasn’t been arrested.
Sharp says he isn’t the only victim of Meredith’s crimes
According to police, Sharp isn’t his only victim.
“I was one of at least half a dozen or even more in this grand theft auto ring,” said Sharp. “The vehicle he arrived in had been stolen an hour and a half before.”
Trying to recoup the loss of his Jeep, he filed a claim with his insurance company, Allstate, who denied his claim. The company’s policy says it’s not responsible for financial losses “due to conversion or embezzlement by any person who has the vehicle due to any rental, lease, lien, or sales agreement.”
Sharp was upset since he paid into the company for nearly a decade.
“Right before Christmas, I got a call from them. My heart sunk in; they’re not going to do anything,” he said.
He’s trying to sue the insurance company for refusing to compensate the loss of his Jeep
Sharp told the outlet he filed a lawsuit against Allstate for denying his claim. He argues without a proper title and no funds to complete the sale, it could be argued his Jeep was stolen, not sold.
“Not to have anything is a major disappointment,” he said. “I have three payments left and will have the title in hand in March. I still own the vehicle even though I don’t have it.”
An Allstate spokesperson told the outlet it acted within the policy’s agreement, and won’t pay Sharp for his loss.
Though, he refuses to give up. From now on, he said, he’s going to be more careful.
