MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man convicted of stealing thousands of dollars from people who paid him to supposedly purchase cars for them at auction avoided prison time for his crime, but could now face sentencing in two states.
The WREG Investigators have followed the story of Leandre Barner for the last five years. Consumers told WREG they handed over their hard-earned cash for what they thought was a deal on cheap rides. In the end, though, they wound up without the cash or the car.
Barner was the man at the center of what turned out to be a scheme.
On an early April morning, Barner sat shoulder to shoulder with dozens of other defendants in a packed DeSoto County Courtroom waiting to hear the judge call his name.
Court records showed Barner was scheduled for a possible plea deal, but the proceeding was moved to another day.
The April 2024 court appearance dates back to a case out of Olive Branch, Mississippi in 2020. Barner was charged with false pretense.
According to the indictment, Barner “willfully, unlawfully and feloniously with the intent to cheat and defraud” took $2,500 from a man with the promise to purchase two cars for him at auction.