Source: Office of United States Attorneys
ST. LOUIS – A purported auto mechanic from Arizona on Tuesday admitted defrauding at least nine victims in Missouri and elsewhere out of more than $1.4 million, including one victim after he was charged.
Andres “Manny” Lopez, 36, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud.
Lopez admitted that from November 2019 through July 2023, while running All Performance Tuning and Diesel Repair LLC in Arizona, he committed fraud by accepting money for vehicle upgrades and parts with no intention of performing the work. Lopez used the advance payments for personal expenses. He also damaged some customer vehicles and loaned vehicles to others without the owners’ consent. Several customers paid Lopez to find and purchase vehicles on their behalf. After receiving up-front payments, Lopez falsely told customers that he purchased their requested vehicles. But he actually used the money for personal expenses and provided customers with myriad false excuses as to why the vehicles could not be delivered.
A Missouri victim wired Lopez $45,000 for a Toyota RAV4 that he wanted to buy for his mother. Lopez falsely claimed that he’d bought the vehicle. He then provided a series of excuses about why it was not being delivered. Lopez claimed delivery delays were due to product recalls, even impersonating the general manager of a Florida Toyota dealership in text messages to the client’s mother.
In the guilty plea, Lopez admitted defrauding one victim out of approximately $567,892 after he was indicted in October of 2023 for the other frauds.
Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced May 9.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting case.