On December 15, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice, in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the return of two federal grand jury indictments as part of an investigation named Operation Title Sweep. Nineteen individuals from Texas, New Jersey, and Arizona were charged for their roles in a vehicle title washing and fraudulent transfer scheme involving several hundred Texas vehicle titles.

This scheme involved the removal of important brands from vehicle titles as well as the submission of fraudulent mechanic's lien documents to remove the names of the original owners and lienholders from the motor vehicle records.

As a result of this investigation, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) has analyzed the affected motor vehicle records and revoked the titles of the vehicles proven to be either salvage, rebuilt salvage, nonrepairable, flood damaged, odometer roll-backs, total loss insurance claims, or subject to a lien. The owners and lienholders of these affected vehicles will receive a letter from the Department advising them of the need to surrender their current titles to the TxDMV to receive corrected titles reflecting the actual condition of the vehicle. If the vehicle is nonrepairable, it can be sold for demolition or scrap parts only. It cannot legally be registered, rebuilt or driven on a Texas roadway.

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