United States of America v. Dennis Birkley and Brian Fenner

Indianapolis, Indiana criminal defense lawyers represented the Defendants charged with fraud.<br>
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On January 31, 2023, a jury convicted Brian Fenner and Dennis Birkley of seventeen counts, all stemming from one overarching fraud.1 Like many fraud schemes, underlying the intricate machinations of this ploy is clear-cut malfeasance.<br>
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Under Indiana's mechanic's lien statute, an individual who does work on, tows, or stores a car at the owner's request<br>
establishes a lien on the vehicle for the value of their services. Ind. Code §9-22-6-2(a)–(b). <br>
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If the owner cannot pay the lien, the mechanic has two paths for compensation. Other creditors, such as the company that financed the vehicle, can pay off the lien. If the creditors decline, the mechanic can put the vehicle up for auction in the newspaper, wait some time before holding the sale, and notify the owner and creditors of the sale. Id. If either the owner or creditors pay the mechanic's lien and claim possession of the car, the auction is off. Id. Otherwise, the sale occurs. Id. And critically for this scheme, the new buyer receives title for the vehicle free and clear of all pre-sale liens. Id. The sale extinguishes all prior interests. Id.<br>
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Fenner ran a towing company. He began a program where he marketed his towing services to attorneys representing fi-<br>
nancially distressed car owners on the brink of bankruptcy. Fenner would pay for the cost of bankruptcy, namely court<br>
and attorney fees, in exchange for the owner letting Fenner tow their vehicle to his lot. Fenner would charge not only for towing, but also storage, maintenance, and other administrative expenses. He would then obtain a mechanic's lien on the vehicle and sell it if neither the owner nor any creditor paid it off. For car owners expecting to lose their vehicle in impending bankruptcy proceedings anyway, Fenner offered a good deal.<br>
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Unbeknownst to the car owners, Fenner was not acting alone. Birkley was financing Fenner's costs—his marketing,<br>
towing, storage, and administration. Indeed, Birkley not only funded Fenner's bank account, he wrote checks from it. For<br>
instance, Birkley would pay the debtors' bankruptcy attorneys using checks from Fenner's bank account, sealed with a<br>
rubber stamp of Fenner's signature.

The defendants were convicted.<br>
<br>
Affirmed