- Virginia used car dealer sentenced to 6 years in federal prison for orchestrating a $2 million auto loan fraud scheme involving multiple financial institutions.
A Virginia used car dealer has been sentenced to six years in federal prison after investigators determined he orchestrated a large-scale auto loan fraud scheme that targeted financial institutions across the country. Adrian Knight, 41, a Virginia Beach resident and owner of Ace Auto Sales, LLC in Chesapeake, received the sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to commit mail, bank, and wire fraud, along with separate counts of wire fraud and bank fraud.
Federal court documents show the scheme ran for nearly four years, beginning in March 2019 and continuing until January 2023. Investigators determined that Knight used his dealership as the centerpiece of the operation, listing Ace Auto Sales as the seller on buyers’ agreements and other documents tied to fraudulent loan applications submitted to financial institutions. Authorities reported that many of the vehicles listed in those applications were never actually in the dealership’s inventory.
According to investigators, Knight recruited multiple co-conspirators to participate in the scheme and directed the overall operation. The group submitted loan applications to banks and lenders using false information designed to secure financing for vehicle purchases that were never legitimate. Authorities said the fraudulent applications included altered vehicle identification numbers as well as fabricated details about income, employment, and other financial information used by lenders to evaluate loan requests…