An Arizona man who posed as an auto mechanic was sentenced to nearly 3 years in jail on Tuesday, according to authorities.
Andres Lopez, 37, better known as Manny, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of wire fraud, according to a Tuesday Eastern District of Missouri announcement.
Details on Arizona man who posed as auto mechanic
According to authorities, Lopez swindled money from customers in November 2019 through his bogus Arizona business, All Performance Tuning and Diesel Repair LLC.
A customer out of Missouri purchased a Toyota RAV4 and wired Lopez $45,000. Lopez lied to the customer about owning the car and gave the customer a series of excuses.
He even went so far as to mimic the general manager of a Florida Toyota store via text.
Lopez also collected money for auto repairs and components but never provided the promised services.
Prosecutors said he damaged customer cars and loaned them out without their owners’ permission.
Following his indictment in October 2023, Lopez proceeded to defraud another victim of over $568,000.
Lopez was also sentenced to return $1.37 million to the victims.
“For years, Andres Lopez lied to customers to line his own pockets. The lies and manipulation continued even after he had been charged for the crime and released on bond,” said special agent in charge Chris Crocker. “Today, Lopez earned every day of his prison sentence for victimizing people with his fraudulent business practices.”
