VINCENNES, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The owner of a local car dealership was arrested after an investigation alleged that he had committed fraud and forgery.
As we previously reported, an investigation into Banks One Stop Auto in Vincennes began in July of 2024. According to a news release from the Indiana Secretary of State’s office, after looking into the dealership’s records and conducting interviews with the affected parties, the division found that the owner, James M. Banks, was engaging in fraudulent activities.
According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Banks was arrested on April 29 and faces the following charges:
- James M. Banks
- 10 counts of Fraud – a level 6 felony.
- 10 counts of Forgery – a level 6 felony.
According to court documents, Knox County Sheriff’s Deputy Camryn Carr stated that in September of 2024, he was contacted by J.T. Hull, an investigator with the Indiana Secretary of State, regarding a criminal investigation involving James Banks, owner of Banks One Stop Auto. According to Carr, Hull stated that the Indiana BMV had received suspected fraudulent or forged documents from Banks One Stop Auto. Carr’s statement goes on to say that Hull requested information about the dispatched calls of Knox County Deputies to Banks One Stop Auto regarding physical inspections of a vehicle or watercraft.
“I provided Investigator Hull with the information requested,” Carr stated.
According to the probable cause affidavit (PCA), on April 1, 2025, Carr received a document from Hull with the completed investigation. Carr stated that the document outlined the instances in which Banks One Stop Auto committed the acts of fraud and forgery.
According to the PCA, two Knox County Sheriff’s Deputies were provided copies of Indiana State Form 39530 that were provided to the Indiana BMV by Banks One Stop Auto bearing a signature with their names.
Court documents state that one of the deputies stated that he would not have signed the form, as it contained a call sign that was associated with a Knox County Jailer and not a Knox County Merit Deputy.
The other deputy was provided with 14 incidents of the form bearing a signature with his name. The deputy accounted for five of the incidents but stated that he did not complete the other nine forms.
According to the PCA, in both incidents, a false signature was made at the bottom of the form, indicating that the deputies had performed a physical inspection of the vehicles.
According to the Sheriff’s Office Banks was released on bond on April 29.
An initial hearing is scheduled for June 2 at 8:00 a.m.
This is a developing story. WTWO will provide updates as they become available.
