Man scammed people buying wheelchair-accessible vehicles in $2.5M scheme, feds say
A used car salesman stole more than $2.5 million dollars from customers, including about 80 people seeking a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, between 2019 and 2023, feds say.
Edward Scott Rock, 47, of Philadelphia, is accused of running a non-delivery sales scheme in which he failed to deliver vehicles he accepted payment for, according to a Dec. 21 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Rock’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Dec. 22.
About 80 of the total 120 people who fell victim to Rock’s scheme were people with a physical disability, over the age of 65 or connected to a business that provided accessible transportation, according to court documents.
On several occasions, Rock even sold the same vehicle to multiple buyers, records show.
“Rock agreed to sell a particular vehicle – a wheelchair-accessible 2017 Ford T150 van – to 13 different buyers over an 11-month period between February 2022 and January 2023,” indictment records show.
Rock obtained used vehicles from auctions and listed them for sale online on websites including Cars.com, Craigslist, Ebay and Facebook, court documents show.
Despite signing a bill of sale and accepting payment, Rock failed to ever deliver the vehicles, court documents show.
To execute his scheme, Rock deposited payment into the bank account of his company which he used to sell used cars online, documents show.
Next, Rock withdrew money from the company’s account by writing hundreds of checks to himself, according to court records.
When customers complained about not receiving their vehicle, Rock would occasionally send refund checks but immediately issue a stop payment preventing them from successfully depositing the funds, court records show.
Rock’s jury trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 26.
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