A man that ran an auto dealership has pleaded guilty to two felony charges in reference to his major participation in an illegal subleasing scheme that involved several people, as reported by The Spectrum.
R.D., 43, was sentenced on February 6, 2014 in 5th District Court.
Nine of the 11 charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal; the dismissed charges involved racketeering and fraud.
R.D. no longer owns Executive Auto on Bluff Street, where the illegal scheme originated. The Utah Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division investigators closed the dealership after issuing a search warrant, which also led to R.D.'s arrest in February of 2013.
The charges R.D. did plea guilty to included two third-degree felony counts of equity skimming. He also admitted that he was involved in a scheme where many prospective car buyers deceived the banks and credit unions – which were the institutions that had lent the funds for their car purchases.
The buyers, referred to as "straws", purchased the cars as investment properties. This allegedly allowed R.D. to rent his luxury cars to professionals that wanted to present themselves as successful – without them having to purchase the cars.
Some of the people involved claimed that they used the fraudulent system because they had suffered economic losses due to the recession.
R.D. will be on probation for a three-year term, under the plea agreement, instead of facing two consecutive prison terms that could have put him in prison for 10 years.
Michael Lastowski, R.D.'s attorney, said that his client disputed some of the evidence presented against him; however, he accepted the prosecutor's evidence, as it was stipulated that he do so in his plea agreement
If R.D. fails to keep to the terms of his probation he may face a long jail sentence, according to Judge John Walton.
No fine was included in the plea deal, according to Deputy County Attorney Jerry Jaeger, because R.D. had experienced incredible financial hardship after the Utah Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division had put an end to his business.
Lastowski commented, "Not only did he lose his dealership, but he lost everything. For the grace of God, he has an employer."
Judge Walton did not agree with either attorney. Instead the judge imposed a fine of $1,000 that could be paid in monthly increments of $50 each. The judge did allow that $500 of the fine could be paid through the costs that R.D. must pay for his privately supervised probation.
Additional to the fine, R.D. has been ordered to pay restitutions to his victims.
During court proceedings R.D. must give honest testimony about anyone else that was involved in the illegal activity.
Others, not as heavily tangled in the scheme, include the Vegas Highline Management Group and its two officers, M.P., 27, and S.H., 33.
Charges against M.P. were dismissed in December and S.H. has yet to appear in court.
Whatever your criminal charges may be contact a criminal defense attorney to help you! The sooner you meet with your attorney the sooner you can plan out your defense strategy.
