(RNN) – Alleged fraudsters posing as vehicle sellers online took money from people who wanted to buy cars and never delivered the goods, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said in a news release.
An indictment listed 25 people who authorities said took part in a money-laundering scheme that focused on classic car sales on well-known auction and trading sales websites.
Buyers cumulatively lost more than $4 million between November 2016 and July 2018 and never received the automobiles for which they paid because the cars listed for sale weren't really for sale.
After the victims wired the money, the suspects often would drain the bank account, drawing money from different bank branches in several withdrawals starting the same day the wire had been transmitted "often kept to an amount they believed would prevent the financial institutions from recording and reporting the fraud," the news release said.
The money was laundered through shell companies and sent outside of the U.S.
Many of the victims never got their money back or were left paying for car loans on imaginary cars.
"As alleged, the defendants participated in a nationwide scheme to defraud, duping victims who responded to fake internet advertisements designed to resemble advertisements posted by legitimate merchants," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said. ... "Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, these defendants will now face prosecution."
Eleven of those charged were arrested in New York.
Tengiz Khukhiashvili was taken into custody in Alachua County, FL on state charges, Elvin Baghir-Pur was detained in Miami and Matiss Puke and Karlis Vitols were apprehended in Charlevoix County, MI on state charges.
Eight of those listed in the indictment are still at large, the FBI said: Kirill Dedusev, Roman Eliozashvili, Yelena Kudaibergenova, Stanislav Lisitskiy (also known as “Giedrius Girnius"), Aleksei Livadnyi, Mikhail Morozov, Aleksandr Starikov and Nikolay Tupikin.
Starikov and Turpin are based in Moscow, and the other four are in thought to be in Los Angeles and Brooklyn.
All but one of the co-conspirators hail from overseas, mostly from countries that were part of the former Soviet Union such as Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Latvia.
Authorities encourage those who believe they were duped by the alleged conspiracy to contact the victim/witness unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, at (866) 874-8900.
How to stay ahead of cyber fraudsters
The Federal Trade Commission offers several ways to keep people from being tricked by online fraud schemes, including:
- Don’t send money or give out personal information in response to an unexpected request from someone claiming to be someone you trust.
- Doublecheck to see if someone is reporting scams related to a business with whom you’ve recently had communication.
- Don’t trust your caller ID.
- Don’t pay upfront for offers such as debt relief, credit, loans, mortgage assistance or a job.
- Consider payment methods. While credit cards have fraud protection built in, wiring money is risky because it is very hard to get your money back.
- Don't deposit a check and wire money back. If the check turns out to be bogus, you're on the hook for the funds.
- Hang up on recorded sales pitches, and report it to the FTC. They are illegal.
- Free trial offers can be used to dupe consumers. Once the trial period is over, companies will bill you every month until you cancel.
- Sign up for fraud alerts at ftc.gov/scams.
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