Former Paducah Auto Dealer Sentenced for Bank Fraud

Topics:  John B. Robertson, Crown Motor of Paducah

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Kentucky
July 14, 2009

PADUCAH, KY—John B. Robertson, age 65, of Paducah, Kentucky in McCracken County, was sentenced to one year and nine months’ imprisonment for bank fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Candace G. Hill of the Western District of Kentucky announced today. Thomas B. Russell, Chief Judge, United States District Court, also sentenced Robertson to three years’ supervised release following incarceration. There is no parole in the federal judicial system. In addition, restitution in the amount of $236,122.02 was imposed.

Robertson had plead guilty on March 11, 2009, and admitted that he was doing business as “Crown Motor of Paducah” and opened a line of credit with BB&T in 2002. Robertson’s credit line, also called a “floor plan” allowed him to purchase vehicles and in turn submit a request for funding from BB&T. Once Robertson sold the vehicle, he was obligated to use the proceeds to satisfy the funding from the line of credit for that vehicle. Any excess money would be Robertson’s profit. On May 25, 2005, and May 26, 2005, BB&T wired funds into the account of Crown Motor, as a result of Robertson’s requests for funding pursuant to the line of credit. Robertson admitted that the requests on the forms were fraudulent because he had already sold several vehicles identified on the forms.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michele Thielhorn, and it was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.