North Carolina Car Broker Sentenced to Prison for Ponzi-like Fraud Scheme

Topics:  David Charles Smith, DCS Auto Consulting

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Western District of Pennsylvania
19 November 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PITTSBURGH- A former North Carolina resident has been sentenced in federal court to 18 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release on his conviction of wire fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Chief United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on David Charles Smith, 44, of Denver, North Carolina.

According to information presented to the court, Smith, who operated a business named DCS Auto Consulting that acted as a broker for the sale of high-end vehicles, devised a scheme to defraud his customers. Smith ultimately used DCS Auto Consulting much like a Ponzi scheme in which Smith, through a series of misrepresentations, solicited and obtain money from vehicle purchasers. Smith would then fraudulently use the monies from the vehicle purchasers to repay other customers who had previously provided Smith with money to purchase vehicles, or to purchase vehicles that Smith intended to sell to other customers. As a result of Smith’s illegal activities, a Murrysville business suffered a loss of $270,000, and Smith was ordered to pay $339,000 in restitution.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Smith.