Vanessa BensonA Dalton, Ga., woman was arrested after it was found she had been forging sheriff's department officer's names on documents and submitting these documents to the local tag office, according to Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood.
Vanessa Benson, 36, of Morningside Drive, was charged with 14 counts of forgery, 14 counts of ID theft and 14 counts of impersonating a public officer or employee.
The documents are known as a "T-22B" form that is used to get a registration for a vehicle. The form has to be signed by a certified peace officer after the officer visibly checks the vehicle identification number and determines the VIN plate with the number that is attached to the vehicle. This form is then turned in to the tag office. The registration for the car can then be used to get a title for the vehicle. The proper registration process is to safe guard the public from getting "clean titles" on salvaged or stolen vehicles.
Investigators believe Benson was participating with some out of state individuals involved in a salvage or stolen car ring and had been involved in submitting the forged documents for more than a year. Fourteen forged documents were discovered.
This is a continuing investigation.