Woman fights to retrieve impounded vehicle
Marilyn Benjamin said she's spent nearly three weeks contacting police, 311 and the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in an effort to retrieve her vehicle she says was impounded over a mix up with the NYPD.
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A Pennsylvania woman is fighting to get back her vehicle impounded in Brooklyn by the NYPD.
It all started on Oct. 4 when Marilyn Benjamin was taking her mother to a cancer treatment appointment and asked a friend to drive her 2018 Range Rover and drop them off.
As her friend waited to pick them up, he was pulled over on the corner of Pitkin Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street, arrested and the car was impounded by the NYPD.
The NYPD told News 12, the traffic stop started because the license plate was covered.
Police determined the vehicle had altered VIN numbers, and that the true VIN number belonged to a stolen vehicle.
It was shocking news to Benjamin who said she legally and lawfully purchased the vehicle. She said she found the car for sale on Craigslist back in 2021.
She provided News 12 her vehicle's title, registration and car insurance documents.
"All of this is like a total shock to me,” said Benjamin.
She’s spent the last nearly three weeks contacting police, 311 and the Brooklyn District Attorneys Office in an effort to retrieve her vehicle that she fears she will never get it back.
"It's a lot for me to digest, its a lot for me to take in right now,” she said. “It's hard earned money going down the drain."
Her friend is now charged with serious charges, including grand larceny auto and criminal possession of stolen property.
"You always hear things like that on the news, you just never think it will be something that will happen to you,” said Benjamin.
She said she needs her vehicle to care for her daughter who has disabilities and her mother who is battling pancreatic cancer.
News 12 reached out to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, and a spokesperson released the following statement:
“The vehicle in question was reported stolen in 2020. Our office will continue to review all the evidence in this case so it can be resolved fairly.”
