Baltimore, Maryland – A Baltimore man has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a fraud scheme that resulted in losses of more than $600,000, according to court records.
Curlee Smittie, age 42, was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud his bank and an automobile auction house.
The scheme, which took place from April 2008 until January 2009, involved Smittie fraudulently obtaining checks from an automobile auction company by buying cars he already owned, using the company’s short-term credit program.
Smittie was registered as a buyer and a seller under the company name Smittie Auto Brokers, and used the auction company’s short-term credit program to purchase automobiles that he already owned.
According to his plea agreement, Smittie received a total of $2,126,997.50 in seller checks from the auction company and deposited them into his bank account.
When the auction company discovered Smittie’s scheme, Smittie owed the company $702,956.28 for automobiles that he had purchased using the company’s short-term credit.
Smittie also paid restitution of $632,850.24 as part of his sentence.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jefferson M. Gray, who prosecuted the case.
Related Federal Cases
- Olusegun Adebiyi, Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, Maryland 2013 · Washington
- Travis Wetzel, Wire Fraud and Money Laundering, Maryland 2012 · Puerto Rico
- Jessica Lee Warner, Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, Maryland 2015 · Maryland
- David Odom, Wire Fraud, Maryland 2011 · Florida
- Mahmood Hussain Shah, Wire Fraud, Maryland 2023 · Maryland
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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