St. Charles County Man Sentenced for Multiple Vehicle-Related Frauds Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri Byline: Robert Patrick Dateline: St. Louis, Missouri Date: 19 December 2024 Subjects: American Government , Crime Topic:

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Thursday sentenced a man to 33 months in prison for selling the same vehicle multiple times online and defrauding other vehicle owners and a welding company.

Ronald Johnson, 57, of St. Peters, pleaded guilty in May to one felony count of wire fraud and admitted owning a car restoration business known as Full Out Customs LLC. He used social media, including Facebook, to advertise vehicles for sale and vehicle repair services.

In 2022, Johnson tricked a victim from Pennsylvania into paying $41,750 for a 2002 Ford Excursion that he’d already sold to a victim in South Dakota for $45,000. He gave the title to the South Dakota buyer and the SUV to the Pennsylvania buyer, meaning the Pennsylvania victim could not lawfully register the vehicle.

Between Nov. 18, 2021, and Jan. 31, 2022, Johnson took $149,843 from another victim by falsely claiming he would use the money for vehicle repairs and parts.

Between September and December of 2021, Johnson ordered $47,088 in welding equipment with no intention of paying for it. He wrote a check from a closed bank account to pay for the equipment. The victim company was able to recover some of the equipment.

Johnson admitted falsifying car titles, emails and other documents to misrepresent the true status of repair work and the ownership of vehicles.

Judge Fleissig determined that Johnson intended to cause financial losses of $315,142. He was ordered Thursday to repay victims.

The case was investigated by the St. Charles Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is prosecuting the case.

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

Updated December 19, 2024