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St. Louis Man Sentenced in Motor Vehicle Title Fraud Scheme
A scheme to alter and counterfeit documents in order to obtain state issued motor vehicle titles for himself and others, and to obtain loans secured by motor vehicle titles, has led to the sentencing of Randall Hinton. The 136-month prison sentence was handed down on August 11, 2023 in the United States District Court.
Hinton, of St. Louis, Missouri, was the leader of the scheme and was sentenced alongside co-defendant Justin Carter, who received a 60-month prison sentence yesterday afternoon. Six other co-defendants have been sentenced earlier this summer to sentences ranging from five years of probation to 37 months in prison.
According to court documents, the schemes involving the defendants resulted in financial losses to the State of Missouri, financial institutions, title loan companies, and individuals. The financial losses exceeded $311,000, with an estimated loss as high as $1,000,000.
The schemes involved altering documents to decrease the value of the vehicles or to change the state of residence of the vehicle owners to addresses in Illinois. This allowed the owners of the vehicles to evade paying the appropriate taxes and license fees to the Department of Revenue for the State of Missouri. Additionally, the defendants removed the names of financial institutions that had financed the purchases of the vehicles from legitimate titles, allowing them to sell the vehicles to innocent purchasers who were then unable to register the vehicles due to existing liens.
The schemes also enabled individuals to use the altered documents to obtain motor vehicle title loans from companies located throughout the United States. As a result, title loan companies experienced large financial losses due to existing liens or the fact that the value of the vehicles was less than the defendants represented.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the State of Missouri Department of Revenue, the State of Illinois Secretary of State, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Tracy Berry is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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