For probably the most half, shopping for or promoting a automobile is a simple course of. However, as in virtually all walks of life, there are additionally those that attempt to pull of a rip-off. Working example the next particular person. The Pitt County Sheriff’s Division has accused used automobile supplier Willard “Tim” Sutton of allegedly defrauding individuals to the tune of $257,271.04.

To attain this, he purchased numerous automobiles from completely different people and paid with checks that he reportedly knew would bounce. Now, he’s in custody dealing with three felony costs.

Sutton owned and managed Greenville Auto World in South Carolina. Authorities say that they consider he issued his first fraudulent test on June thirteenth, 2023 when he purchased seven automobiles from Greenville Auto Brokers for $147,800. A couple of month later, on June thirtieth, he purchased one other automobile, this time for $30,290. Once more, police declare he used a test that he knew would bounce.

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Between the 2 dates, an unnamed get together filed an involuntary chapter petition in opposition to Greenville Auto World. By late August, one other such petition had been filed. Courtroom information allegedly present over $3.5 million in money owed owed by Sutton.

Extra: 5 Californians Accused Of Staging Automobile Crash In $30k Insurance coverage Rip-off

As detectives investigated the case they are saying that they discovered of three extra nugatory checks totaling $78,184.04 given to an property for extra automobiles. It’s unclear what kinds of automobiles Sutton was shopping for.

He now faces one cost of Acquiring Property by False Pretenses Higher than $100,000 and two extra of merely Acquiring Property by False Pretenses. He’s at the moment in custody on the Pitt County Detention Middle with a bond of $100,000.

Apparently, Greenville Auto World nonetheless exists, kind of. Based on a publish on its Fb web page, the used automobile supplier isn’t linked to Sutton apart from having the identical identify. “His firm went out of enterprise final June 2023. Our company and community of dealerships merely moved into this former empty facility. We determined to make use of the identical DBA identify because the service and gross sales division had such loyal prospects and the price of signage alternative was extraordinarily excessive,” it mentioned.

The Pitt County Sheriff’s Division didn’t touch upon what Sutton’s plan was relating to the used automobiles and the way he deliberate to get away with the scheme.