Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

If you are talking in a criminal context, it depends on his knowledge at the time of the sale and there is also the issue of proof. It is clear that if he knew there was a lien and lied to you, there would be fraud and the seller could be prosecuted. The second issue is what is in writing ? Is it clear, by the contract, that there was no lien ? Those are issues law enforcement will want to know. Also be aware, you start talking liens and sale of boats and most cops think civil and don't want to deal with it. However if you use words like fraud, they are more receptive. On another note, you could always sue the seller civilly for fraud and perhaps other civil torts, but that is not my field, and you may want to seek the advise of a civil attorney as quickly as possible so no legal rights you may have are lost. I wish you well. David Wallin

Who cares? Even if it was criminal, the most you could do was file a police report, and it would be up to the District Attorney whether or not to file charges. You are better off looking at it from a civil perspective, and decide whether you can sue and get back your money you lost with all of the liens.