Gary Wilds, Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, Missouri 2024

Related Federal Cases

Albert Davis, Wire Fraud, Kansas City, MO, 2023 · Texas
Russell Hopkins, Securities Fraud Conspiracy, Kansas City MO, 2023 · Missouri
Charles Hicks Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud, Fenton MO, 2023 · Missouri
Darrin Landes, Wire Fraud, Ballwin MO, 2023 · North Carolina
Timothy Roberts Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Tampa Startup Scam · New York

Table of Contents

Fraudulent Vehicle Registrations Exposed in Missouri

ST. LOUIS – Gary Wilds, 48, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 22 counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and six counts of making a false statement in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.

Wilds’ business, Pinnacle Concierge, assisted customers in registering their vehicles with the Missouri Department of Revenue. He admitted bribing employees of the motor vehicle license offices to falsely represent to the state that the vehicles had passed emissions and safety inspections and that those owners had paid their property taxes and had proof of insurance or other evidence of financial responsibility.

Wilds also bribed employees into submitting forged documents claiming that vehicle owners were eligible for sales tax exemptions, thus reducing tax assessments from thousands of dollars per vehicle to as little as $11.

Some of Wilds’ customers knew that Wilds was going to use deceptive means to register their vehicles because their vehicles could not pass emissions tests, they had outstanding child support arrearages or they had been barred from registering vehicles by another state agency, the plea says.

Three former employees of contract license offices have also pleaded guilty. Ashlyn Graeff, 39, pleaded guilty on March 5, 2024, to three counts of making a false statement. Megan Leone, 42, pleaded guilty on Dec. 11, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. Michelle Boyer, 53, pleaded guilty on May 21 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Graeff was sentenced July 17, 2024, to four years of probation and ordered to pay $84,554 in restitution. Leone is scheduled to be sentenced on July 24 and Boyer on August 21.

Wilds is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2. The conspiracy and wire fraud charges each carry a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine. The charge of making a false statement carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Each aggravated identity theft charge is punishable by two years in prison, consecutive to any other charge.

The case was investigated by the Missouri Department of Revenue and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.