Three Accused of Nearly $350,000 Auto Loan Fraud Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri Byline: Robert Patrick Dateline: St. Louis, Missouri Date: 15 February 2024 Subjects: American Government , Crime

ST. LOUIS – Three people have been indicted on charges accusing them of defrauding St. Louis area lenders and others out of $348,000 with a fraudulent vehicle loan scam.

Willie Roy Carter, 74, Kizzie Davis, also known as Kizzie Lofton, 45, and Charles Davis Jr., 56, were indicted Dec. 20, 2023, with nine counts of bank fraud and one count of mail fraud. Carter appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. The Davises, who are husband and wife, pleaded not guilty February 2.

The indictment accuses Carter of applying for nine auto loans between July 23, 2019, and Aug. 1, 2018, using fraudulent documents. In some cases, Carter allegedly used a fraudulent Illinois vehicle title. In all cases, Carter claimed the car was being sold by City Limits Auto Sales, a business name registered in Missouri in 2016 by Charles Davis, the indictment says. Carter then gave the loan checks to the Davises to deposit.

The loans totaled about $348,214, the indictment says.

Each bank fraud charge is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both prison and a fine. The mail fraud charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane is prosecuting the case.

Robert Patrick, Public Affairs Officer, robert.patrick@usdoj.gov.

Updated July 19, 2024