– By F. Scott Faulkner
VENTURA COUNTY, CA — September 26, 2025 – What started as an online inquiry into the purchase of a $68,000 Chevrolet Corvette ended on the
morning September 23 with three men in handcuffs and a trail of fraudulent paperwork behind
them.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Jarrod Foote, 48-year-old
Raymond Cox of Woodland Hills tried to pass himself off as someone else “to secure financing
for the high-end sports car.”
Investigators determined that Cox used a stolen Social Security
number and a phony identification card, hoping to slip the deal through unnoticed.
Cox reportedly set up an appointment with a Thousand Oaks dealership via telephone and the
internet to close the deal on the vehicle purchase.
Vigilant dealership personnel then contacted law enforcement regarding their suspicions surrounding the prospective transaction.
Just an hour later, Cox showed up at the dealership accompanied by Ricky Perez, 32, of
Winnetka, and Vincent Venerable, 41, of Lancaster. Pursuant to the earlier call from the
dealership, detectives from the East County Investigations Bureau were already surveilling the
lot when the trio arrived.
Cox went so far as to sign paperwork “in another person’s name” before deputies moved in and
arrested him.
Perez and Venerable were taken into custody as well after deputies discovered they,
too, were carrying false identification and allegedly conspiring with Cox to pull off the scam.
All three suspects were transported to Ventura County Jail, where Cox was charged with
attempted grand theft auto, identity theft, conspiracy, forgery, and attempted vehicle theft.
Perez and Venerable face similar conspiracy and fraud-related counts. All three remain in custody with
bail set at $200,000 each.
