CHICAGO — The former owner of a Chicago car dealership was arrested Nov. 6 on federal charges alleging that he and two former employees, who also were charged, engaged in a fraud scheme involving more than 100 vehicles and caused lending institutions, car dealerships, and customers to lose nearly $2.8 million.
Patrick McManamon, owner of the former Clover Financial Sales & Leasing Inc., a car dealership located in Roselle, Ill., was charged with mail and wire fraud in an 11-count federal grand jury indictment that was returned Wednesday and unsealed today following his arrest, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, an attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, special agent-in-charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
McManamon, 49, was indicted along with Glenn Stancil, 37, Clover’s former president who ran its used-car department, and Pamela Mendyk, 35, who worked in Clover’s finance department. The indictment seeks forfeiture of $2,795,601 from McManamon and Stancil.
According to the indictment, McManamon and Stancil persuaded customers to transfer to Clover vehicles that they owned or leased by falsely representing that Clover would pay off the customers' loans or leases on those vehicles. McManamon and Stancil then sold or leased these vehicles to other customers, falsely representing that Clover had good title to the vehicles. McManamon, Stancil, and Mendyk allegedly arranged for lending institutions to finance the purchase and lease of vehicles from Clover by falsely representing that Clover had paid off prior loans and leases on those vehicles.
The indictment alleges that between March 2005 and December 2006, McManamon, Stancil, and Mendyk caused at least 127 vehicles to be transferred to Clover based on false representations, failed to pay off the loans and leases on those vehicles, and caused losses to Clover's lenders and customers of at least $2,795,601.
The defendants allegedly induced lenders to finance customers' purchases and leases of the fraudulently-obtained vehicles from Clover by providing the lenders with fraudulent documents, including altered titles and checks falsely purporting to represent pay-offs of outstanding loans and leases. When customers who bought vehicles from Clover had trouble obtaining valid license plates and car registrations, the defendants falsely represented that the Illinois Secretary of State was behind in processing and issuing titles, and that Clover's transactions were processed more slowly because it was not a large dealership.
Each count of wire or mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or a fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater.
