ST. LOUIS – A Hazelwood, Missouri, man appeared in federal court on Thursday and was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison for credit card fraud.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Naquan Powers, 27, admitted to a series of fraudulent schemes to acquire numerous vehicles and working with others to do the same.
Powers pleaded guilty in March to four counts of bank fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft.
He admitted to buying three cars from a Florissant dealership between June 24, 2019, and Aug. 23, 2019, and using fake Social Security cards and driver’s licenses to apply for loans.
Powers purchased a Chevy Impala with an $18,098 loan, a Chevy Tahoe with a $42,086 loan, and a BMW 428 XI with a loan in the amount of $29,079.
Police finally arrested Powers when he attempted to purchase a Dodge Challenger with a loan in the amount of $38,191.
Following his arrest, Powers helped at least four other people buy cars through fraudulent means at dealerships across St. Louis and Southern Illinois.
Powers told the court he accessed Discover Bank accounts belonging to others in 2018 and 2019 and changed the information on those accounts so that he would receive debit cards and checks for them.
In addition, he applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan and four loans from the CARES Act, claiming losses from a fake freight truck company.
All told, Powers’ schemes cost his victims $404,415.
Prosecutors said five other people involved in the schemes have also been indicted. Four have already pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to between 24 and 51 months.
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Powers to 111 months in prison and ordered him to repay the money.