I still can’t wrap my head around exactly how all this transpired, but a Missouri man is facing several charges for allegedly conning various women into buying him sports cars of which he sold and kept the cash.
According to kmov.com of St. Loius, Timothy Rossell, 28, is charged with four counts of identity theft and one count of impersonating a federal officer.
Police say that Rossell met three women on a dating site called “Plenty of Fish” and convinced them to purchase expensive cars for him in their name. He would then sell those cars, keep the money, and report them stolen.
One woman in Florida is on the hook for over $300,000 after she purchased a Lamborghini Gallardo and a Corvette Z06. His fiancée ended up buying him a brand new Shelby Mustang, a motorcycle and a Cadillac Escalade.
Authorities say that Rossell would tell these women that he worked as a federal agent as a U.S. Marshall and he had the money, but just need the women to put their name on the loan.
His scheme came unraveled when his fiancée discovered government IDs that had different names on them. That is when she contacted the police.
Rossell was caught in Illinois when his Lamborghini got a flat tire and he attempted to have one of the other women pay for a bus pass. He will likely face even more charges as the investigation unfolds.
I’m used to giving car buying advice that should be common sense, so I’ll continue that trend. If you are going to buy a car for someone else and they say “they are good for it,” have them show you some pay stubs and bank statements first. Or just tell them to buy their own damn car.