Alabama scam artist gets 71 months on stolen vehicle/wire fraud charges.
Robert Brandon Malone, 35 from Prattville, Alabama was sentenced to 71 months (5.9 years) in prison for wire fraud and the transportation of a stolen vehicle. It all started in April of 2017 with a RAM 1500 that a client had brought in to trade at the dealership that he was working at at the time. Malone proceeded to post a listing for it on Craigslist and sold the truck, after discovering that the truck did not belong to Malone the buyer returned it to the dealership expecting a refund that he did not receive. Next, in January of 2018, while working on a Chevy C10 pickup truck for someone at his repair shop, he posted yet another listing on Craigslist for said pick up truck.
Eventually, the truck was returned to Its rightful owner however, yet again, there was no refund. His final scam would be the one to cost him his freedom. Malone was in the process of completing the paperwork to purchase an Audi R8 before the purchase could be completed Malone hopped in the vehicle and drove from the dealership (in Georgia) back home to Prattville Alabama. He then contacted someone that he knew was in the market for an Audi and sold it to them. They had left their F-150 at his place and we're coming to retrieve it but good ole Robby just wasn't waiting around for ‘em so he posted an ad on Instagram. He sold the truck and both owners eventually discovered that the cars were not his to sell; all of the vehicles were returned to their respective owners but no money was refunded to anyone.
He was eventually indicted by a federal grand jury on 3 counts of wire fraud and 1 count of transporting a stolen vehicle in October of 2019. He was put on a pre-trial release in November of that same year which was eventually revoked in Feb. of 2020 after he had been discovered doing the same thing in Pelham, Alabama. Malone was said to have been relatively unconcerned about getting caught even after having already been arrested for it. He is now serving a 71-month sentence on 3 counts of wire fraud, transportation of a stolen vehicle, along with other violations of Alabama state law he was also ordered to pay an amount of $93,784.68 as restitution to the victims of his crimes..
Source: Montgomery Advertiser
