A Norcross man was sentenced to 21 months in prison for being part of a scheme that involved advertising cars on Craigslist, encouraging users to send money and never delivering the cars.
Luis Caseres-Duarte, 26, pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Ohio.
He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Timothy Black.
As part of his sentence, Caseres-Duarte was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service, serve three years of supervised release and pay more than $200,000 in restitution to victims of the scheme.
According to court documents, several people were involved in placing the ads on Craigslist and other sites using a fake name or fake business. Buyers were instructed to wire money to a purported “broker.”
Caseres-Duarte and others would then use fake identification to pose as the broker and withdraw the wired funds, according to the news release.
Once the funds were withdrawn, the money was split between the group.
“To clarify, Caseres-Duarte did not actually help with posting the false advertisements. He served as the fraudulent ‘broker’ and was involved in the transactions of at least 50 vehicles,” Jennifer Thornton, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an email.
Caseres-Duarte was identified as part of the scheme during a traffic stop near West Chester, Ohio, shortly after he obtained one of the wire payments at a Walmart, according to the release.
Officers found more than $2,000 in cash on him and text messages on his phone identifying transactions of more than $20,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
Investigators then discovered more than $33,000 in cash in Cincinnati hotel rooms Caseres-Duarte used and documentation noting wires for more than $160,000 to individuals in Hungary.
Javier Martinez-Melo, a co-defendant in the case, was sentenced in May by a federal court in Tennessee to 57 months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. He also faces charges in Ohio.
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