TAMPA, Fla. – A 27-year-old Tampa man is headed to federal prison after using his position as a car dealer to orchestrate a sophisticated wire fraud scheme involving phantom vehicles and high-end exports. U.S. Senior District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington sentenced Mohamad Jihad Fakih to four and a half years behind bars for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and attempting to export a stolen motor vehicle.
The sentence, announced by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe, follows Fakih’s conviction on August 21, 2025. In addition to his prison term, the court ordered Fakih to forfeit $378,886.96, representing the total proceeds gained through his illegal activities.
Federal court documents detail how Fakih exploited his professional access to dealership websites to submit fraudulent loan applications to automotive financing companies…