Fraud Duo Stole $1.7 Million in Loans for Cars That Did Not Exist

Two men were sentenced last week for their roles in a fraud conspiracy ring that stole $1.7 million in auto loans from five credit unions and a bank for cars that did not exist.

U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May in Atlanta, Ga., sentenced Michael Miller, 58, of Sandy Springs, Ga., to two years in prison, five years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $316,826 in restitution. Judge May also sentenced Melvin Goode Wentt, 59, of Brooklyn, N.Y., to two years and ten months in prison, five years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $765,603 in restitution.

Miller and Wentt, and five other defendants, were indicted and charged with bank fraud and attempted bank fraud conspiracy in December 2017.

Federal investigators said the conspiracy ring set up six shell corporations through the Georgia Secretary of State. The conspirators then recruited individuals to apply for cars loans with the $8.9 billion Digital Federal Credit Union in Marlborough, Mass., the $24.4 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union in McClean, Va., the $3.3 billion Affinity Federal Credit Union in Basking Ridge, N.J, the $437 million Air Force Federal Credit Union in San Antonio, Texas, the $2.7 billion NASA Federal Credit Union in Upper Marlboro, Md., and the $86 billion USAA Federal Savings Bank in San Antonio, according to court documents.

The loan applicants claimed they were purchasing a car from one of the fake companies and submitted bogus purchase orders created by the conspiracy ring. After a loan check was issued, it was deposited into financial accounts opened by the conspirators and held in the names of the fake companies.

The conspirators and the loan applicants split the money and did not repay the loans. Because there were no cars to repossess, the credit unions and bank were left with nothing, a federal investigation revealed.

The scheme spanned approximately four years. Over that time, the conspiracy ring applied for more than 80 auto loans, totaling $2.7 million in attempted fraud and managed to steal $1.7 million, court records show.

Two members of the conspiracy ring who were sentenced earlier this year were Giovanni Cartier, 55 of Austell, Georgia. He was sentenced to four years, nine months in prison and was ordered to pay $1,706,342. Rhaine Yamabushi Mathis, 45, of Florence, South Carolina, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison and was ordered to pay $164,995 in restitution.

Two additional conspiracy ring members sentenced last year were Vladimir Marcellus, 31, of Ventura, Calif. who was sentenced to three years probation, with 240 days of home detention. He was ordered to pay $164,995 in restitution. Kirk Evans, 46, of Ellenwood, Georgia, was sentenced to three years probation, with six months of home detention. He was ordered to pay $47,799 in restitution.

One remaining unidentified conspirator is awaiting extradition from the United Kingdom, prosecutors said.