PHOENIX – LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – Robert A. Green, 46, of Scottsdale, Ariz. was sentenced to four months in federal prison, four months home detention and three years of supervised release on one count of mail fraud by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Martone. Green was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim totaling $129,000. Green was required to pay $30,000 last Friday, the day of sentencing, with the balance of restitution to be paid at a later date as set by the court. Green was ordered to self-surrender to the U.S. Marshal’s Service on Tuesday, August 28, 2007.
According to the indictment from Billings, Montana on August 19, 2005, Green was charged with six counts of mail fraud and one count of money-laundering. The case was later transferred to the District of Arizona on March 23, 2006. The indictment states that Green and David Sellers, who operated Certified Auto Sales in Billings, Montana, entered into a business relationship in 2000 in which Sellers acted as the wholesale supplier of used vehicles and Green was the retail dealer.
From about January until April of 2001, Green utilized a scheme to defraud Sellers of money. Green would tell Sellers that he had sold used cars supplied by Sellers and that he was sending payment for the cars, knowing he was issuing bad checks to get Sellers to send vehicle titles. Green received vehicle titles from Sellers and took all the retail sales profits from 10 vehicles valued at about $123,000.
Green pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in Phoenix on March 30, 2007, before Judge Martone. The remaining six counts were dismissed at sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leif M. Johnson, Billings, Montana and Frank Galati, Phoenix, prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by special agents from the IRS and FBI.
CASE NUMBER: CR 06-367 PHX-KJM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2007-181(Green)
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Sandy Raynor
Public Affairs Officer
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Arizona
Office 602.514.7625
Cell 602.525.2681
Fax 602.514.7676
