South Carolina Code 56-29-30. Operation of chop shop unlawful; penalty, restitution
(1) own, operate, or conduct a chop shop;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 56-29-30
- Chop shop: means any building, lot, or other premises where one or more persons are or have been knowingly engaged in altering, destroying, disassembling, dismantling, reassembling, or knowingly storing any motor vehicle, or motor vehicle part known to be illegally obtained by theft, fraud, or conspiracy to defraud, in order either to:
(a) alter, counterfeit, deface, destroy, disguise, falsify, forge, obliterate, or remove the identity, including the vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, in order to misrepresent the identity of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, or to prevent the identification of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, or
(b) sell or dispose of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part. See South Carolina Code 56-29-20 - Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Person: includes a natural person, company, corporation, unincorporated association, partnership, professional corporation, and any other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 56-29-20
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- Vehicle: includes every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, which is self-propelled or which may be connected to and towed by a self-propelled device, and also includes any and all other land-based devices which are self-propelled but which are not designed for use upon a highway including, but not limited to, farm machinery and construction equipment. See South Carolina Code 56-29-20
- Vehicle identification number: means a number, a letter, a character, a datum, a derivative, or a combination thereof, used by the manufacturer or the Department of Motor Vehicles for the purpose of uniquely identifying a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part. See South Carolina Code 56-29-20
(2) transport a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part to or from a location knowing it to be a chop shop; or
(3) sell, transfer, purchase, or receive a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part either to or from a location knowing it to be a chop shop.
A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than ten years or fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars, or both.
(B) A person who knowingly alters, counterfeits, defaces, destroys, disguises, falsifies, forges, obliterates, or knowingly removes a vehicle identification number, or causes any of the above to be done, with the intent to misrepresent the identity or prevent the identification of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not less than five thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(C)(1) A person who buys, disposes, sells, transfers, or possesses a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, with knowledge that the vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part has been altered, counterfeited, defaced, destroyed, disguised, falsified, forged, obliterated, or removed, or causes any of the above to be done, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not less than five thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(2) The provisions of item (1) of subsection (C) do not apply to a motor vehicle scrap processor who, in the normal legal course of business and in good faith, processes a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part by crushing, compacting, or other similar methods, provided that any vehicle identification number is not removed from the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part before or during the processing.
(D) A person commits an attempt when, with intent to commit a violation proscribed by subsection (A), (B), or (C) of this section, the person does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of the violation proscribed by those subsections and is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not less than five thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(E) A person commits the offense of conspiring to violate the provisions of this act if he knowingly and wilfully agrees with another person to the commission of the offenses proscribed by subsection (A), (B), or (C) of this section and is guilty of a felony. Upon conviction, the person must be imprisoned not more than five years, or fined not more than five thousand dollars.
(F)(1) In addition to any other punishment, a person who violates this section must be ordered to make restitution to the lawful owner of the stolen motor vehicle or the stolen motor vehicle part, or to the owner’s insurer to the extent that the owner has been compensated by the insurer, and to any other person for any financial loss sustained as a result of a violation of this section.
Financial loss includes, but is not limited to, loss of earnings, out-of-pocket and other expenses, repair and replacement costs, and claims payments. Lawful owner includes an innocent bona fide purchaser for value of a stolen motor vehicle or stolen motor vehicle part who does not know that the motor vehicle or part is stolen; or an insurer to the extent that the insurer has compensated a bona fide purchaser for value.
(2) The court shall determine the extent and method of restitution. In an extraordinary case, the court may determine that the best interests of the victim and justice would not be served by ordering restitution. In that case, the court shall make and enter specific written findings on the record concerning the extraordinary circumstances presented which militated against restitution.