American Couple Given Probation For Illegally Selling JDM Unicorns

UPDATE: After pleading guilty to one felony count each on 8 December, Diaz and Chiong have been sentenced to five years of probation. It came three days before the trial was set to begin, with the plea whittling down hundreds of charges to one each. Our original story from 7 December is below.

It’s perhaps the second-most interesting Miami-set Bonnie and Clyde story this week, after a certain video game you may have heard about. Rather than robbing banks though, an American couple has been accused of ripping off unsuspecting enthusiasts by illegally selling JDM unicorns.

You may be familiar with the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act of 1988. It’s the American law that prevents cars younger than 25 years from being legally imported and registered for road use in the country if they were not sold in the states originally.

Reportedly, Andres D. Diaz, 41, and Nicole G. Chiong, 35, had fraudulently imported 348 cars that did not meet the threshold between November 2014 and October 2020. Among these included R34 Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, FD Mazda RX7s and EK9 Honda Civic Type Rs.

It’s said these vehicles were primarily imported through J-Spec Garage and Soho Alliance, both of which Diaz and Chiong are listed as directors. However, the defence claims importing was handled by a separate company.

Additionally, it’s alleged that Diaz and Chiong committed fraud when titling these vehicles, creating forged documents and mimicking federal signatures.

With each case treated as a felony, along with multiple counts of conspiracy and grand theft auto, both Diaz and Chiong could face large sentences if found guilty. The trial will begin in Miami-Dade County on 11 December.

The real victims here are the unsuspecting buyers, who have been left with some expensive special metal that cannot be registered. A spokesperson for the Florida HSMV told The Drive in 2022 that it had begun the process of informing owners that their vehicles’ titles would be revoked.