NORTH MIAMI, FL – Michael “Mickey” Munday, 72, has been convicted of a sprawling mail fraud scheme that bilked banks out of over $1.7 million, federal prosecutors announced today. Munday was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and five counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341. Each count carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
The operation, exposed by a joint investigation from the U.S. Secret Service and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, involved Munday and his co-conspirators obtaining vehicles through deceit and outright theft across the country. The crew targeted individuals behind on car payments, strong-arming them into surrendering their vehicles for paltry cash. They also illegally repossessed cars and smuggled stolen vehicles into Florida, all while masking their activities through a network of bogus towing and repossession companies.
Once in their possession, the vehicles were hidden at locations including Munday’s North Miami residence. The real fraud began when co-conspirators mailed out false lien notices – claiming bogus tow services totaling thousands of dollars – to vehicle owners and legitimate lienholders. These notices were a smokescreen for the next phase: sham auctions held at a strip mall. Evidence presented at trial revealed that of the over 150 cars involved, only one ever made it to a staged “auction,” which drew no actual buyers.
The ultimate goal wasn’t to sell cars legitimately. After the charade, the conspirators fraudulently scrubbed the vehicle titles, removing rightful owners and lienholders. These cleaned titles allowed them to sell the cars to a wholesale contact at below-market prices, who then flipped them for a profit to unsuspecting local dealerships. The entire scheme was a calculated effort to strip banks of their collateral and pocket the difference. Nine other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty in connection with the case.
What’s particularly damning, according to prosecutors, is the evidence suggesting Munday wasn’t a first-time offender. Videos and social media posts introduced as evidence showed Munday boasting about his past as a drug smuggler, explicitly drawing parallels between using tow companies as fronts for smuggling and his current operation. He even styled himself the “UPS of the smuggling industry,” openly proclaiming his ability to evade law enforcement.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 29, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. before U.S. District Court Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg commended the Secret Service and Fort Lauderdale PD for their work on the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua S. Rothstein and Anne P. McNamara. Court documents are available on the Southern District of Florida’s website: http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov and http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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