A man involved in a fraudulent vehicle purchase scheme has been sentenced to one year in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk. The sentencing also includes an order to pay $89,263 in restitution.
Lavell Caradine, 35, was employed at a car dealership in Florissant, Missouri when he assisted Naquan Powers in fraudulently purchasing vehicles using stolen identities. The fraudulent activity occurred between June 24, 2019, and August 23, 2019. During this period, Caradine facilitated the sale of three vehicles to Powers, who utilized the personal information of unsuspecting victims to buy and finance the vehicles.
According to Caradine’s plea agreement, Powers provided him with the stolen personal information via text message, enabling Caradine to verify the information and proceed with the vehicle purchases. Caradine used the dealership’s system to perform credit checks on the victims. However, he discovered that some identities were unusable, either due to the victim being deceased or having their credit frozen, as detailed in a sentencing memo by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke.
Despite these issues, Caradine helped Powers secure loans for three vehicles: a Chevrolet Tahoe with a $42,086 loan, a Chevrolet Impala with a $18,098 loan, and a BMW 428 with a $29,079 loan. The scheme was interrupted when Caradine warned Powers that police had arrived at the dealership while he was attempting to purchase a Dodge Challenger.
In February, Caradine pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud.
Naquan Powers, 27, from Hazelwood, Missouri, is serving a 111-month prison sentence. His conviction stems from his involvement in fraudulent vehicle purchases, as well as a credit card scam and pandemic-related fraud.
The investigation into the case was conducted by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke prosecuted the case.
