Legal Question in Consumer Law in Illinois

I bought a used car on 2-28-07. The dealership I bought the car from was shut down by the FBI in early 2007 right after I bought the car. The owner was convicted of mass fraud & is currently in custody in federal prison. The Secretary of State Police are withholding the title of the vehicle from me because they say that the dealership's records show that I didn't pay the car off. I paid for this vehicle in cash & they say I need to prove that to get the title. They say that the now closed dealership is the lien holder on the vehicle. The dealership was shut down by the feds & the owner is currently in federal prison. I don't have the receipts anymore as we moved almost 2 years ago & the receipts were from 2007. Even if I did owe money, how could I pay a company that no longer exists & the former owner of that non-existant company? The former owner is in federal prison for 11 counts of fraud totaling over $2.7 million dollars. The guy most likely pocketed the cash I gave him to pay for the car & didn't record the money as having paid for the vehicle.Can the Sec. of State Police withhold the title from me under these circumstances? Please help, as I need to get the title to trade the car in. It is 9 years old & has 90K miles on it. I've had it for 4 years now & I put a lot of money into fixing it up. I don't know what I can do about this.

Asked on 1/25/11, 6:07 am

Sal Sheikh www.BetterCallSal.com

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0 attorneys agreed

Many issues here.

Did you finish paying off the car?

Whether the dealership owner is in prison or not, someone most likely, bought the paper for the loan you had on the car.

You need to go into a local SOS office and talk with them about your situation. Don't be lazy and try to do it on the phone, GO INTO AN OFFICE.

Bring all paperwork you have, if any.

Answered on 1/27/11, 1:23 pm

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