VIRGINIA BEACH — A 53-year-old Virginia Beach man could spend up to 30 years in federal prison for cashing fraudulent checks for the purchase of cars he didn’t own.
Richard Huff was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Huff and co-conspirators came up with a scheme to fraud Navy Federal Credit Union out of money by getting fraudulent auto loans using stolen identities.
The auto loans were made for BMWs and Mercedes that were for sale at dealerships. During the loan process, co-conspirators listed Huff as the owner and seller of the cars, according to the DOJ.
Investigators say that on July 13, 2016 Huff cashed a $40,000 auto loan at Navy Federal Credit Union that was obtained by his co-conspirators. He was arrested when trying to cash a $45,000 check days later.
When the applications were made the cars were proffered as collateral for the money.
Huff is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25.
