United States of America v. Adrian Knight

Norfolk, Virginia, criminal defense lawyer James Orlando Broccoletti represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud.

Adrian Knight, 41, owned Ace Auto Sales, LLC in Chesapeake. From March 2019 to January 2023, Knight engaged in a fraud conspiracy in which he and co-conspirators listed Ace as the seller of automobiles in buyers’ agreements or buyers’ orders that accompanied fraudulent loan applications to various financial institutions for automobiles that were not in Ace’s inventory. Knight recruited the co-conspirators and was the leader of the operation. The conspirators provided false information, such as altered vehicle identification numbers and false income and employment data, to obtain the loans.

After the financial institutions provided loan funds to Knight and others, Knight would retain a portion of the proceeds and share the remainder with his co-conspirators. The conspirators would then default on the loan or claim the loan was filed through identity theft, and the banks or their insurers were left with the loss. No automobiles were purchased with these loan proceeds. The fraud victimized two dozen financial institutions and resulted in over $2 million in fraud loss.

“Adrian Knight conspired to profit from exploiting financial institutions that serve honest consumers,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “These schemes undermine legitimate lending and drive up costs for borrowers. We will continue to ensure that markets remain fair, transparent, and trustworthy, and that those who manipulate the system for personal gain are brought to justice.”

Imprisonment: Seventy-Two (72) Months; Supervised Release: Three (3) Years; Special Assessment: $100.00