ST. LOUIS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Missouri, Eastern), published as received.
ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Peters, Missouri has been indicted and accused of selling the same vehicle multiple times online and defrauding other vehicle owners in a scheme that allegedly cost victims at least $300,000.
Ronald Johnson, 55, was indicted February 15 on two felony counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. He pleaded not guilty February 24 and appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Friday at a hearing that could determine if he is jailed until trial.
The indictment says Johnson owned a car restoration business known as Full Out Customs LLC, and from December 2021 to December 2022 sold a 2002 Ford Excursion to multiple people via social media, including Facebook. He also received payment from people who were seeking repairs on vehicles, but never did the work, the indictment says.
Johnson ordered equipment to repair vehicles but never paid, or post-dated checks drawn on closed accounts or accounts with insufficient funds, the indictment says. He also falsified car titles, emails and other documents to further his scheme, it says.
The indictment says Johnson used victims’ money to take vacations with his girlfriend and to fuel a gambling habit.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the St. Charles Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Dowd III is prosecuting the case.
