Springfield towing company owner, 76, sentenced to 12 years for fraud, money laundering, identity theft

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced today for the crimes of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering in federal court for his role in a scheme that involved submitting false documents to the Missouri Department of Revenue in an effort to obtain mechanics liens and titles for vehicles that had previously been stolen.

Dennis Arthur Cleveland, 76, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen R. Bough on one count of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of money laundering. Cleveland received a sentence of 120 months for the mail fraud and money laundering counts that will run concurrently, an additional 24 months for aggravated identity theft that will run consecutively to the other counts, and an additional nine months’ incarceration for his violations of his post release supervision from a prior conviction for Clean Air Act offenses in 2023. 

Overall, Cleveland was sentenced to a total of 153 months incarceration, to be followed by three years of post-release supervision, payment of a $300 special assessment, payment of a restitution in the amount of $37,049 to the victims, a full order of forfeiture in the amount of $37,049, and the payment of $400,000 in fines assessed by the court against the defendant.

“Government records and title systems exist to establish legitimate ownership, not to provide an easy way for criminals to turn stolen vehicles into profit,” said R. Matthew Price, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. “The defendant didn’t simply commit a harmless paperwork offense; he manipulated records for personal greed. Today’s sentence makes it clear that those who try to defraud government processes at any level in the Western District of Missouri, will be held accountable and aggressively prosecuted.”

Cleveland, as the owner of Affordable Towing, directed his employees, who he knew were submitting fraudulent documents, to send those documents to the Missouri Department of Revenue. The purpose of the documents was to obtain substitute or replacement mechanics liens and vehicle titles that would allow Cleveland to sell the vehicles. 

In each instance, the documents submitted by Cleveland and his employees claimed to have received permission from the vehicle’s owner. Upon reviewing the documents, it was discovered that none of the listed vehicle owners gave Cleveland or Affordable Towing permission to seize or sell their vehicle. Further, in all these documents, a signature in the name of the vehicle’s owner was provided and was confirmed to be a forgery. 

 In those instances that Cleveland obtained a replacement lien or title, he would sell the vehicle at a used car dealership. In those instances that Cleveland failed to receive a replacement title or mechanics lien, he would send the vehicle to a local scrapyard. Under either circumstance, Cleveland took all the proceeds from sale or scrapping of a vehicle for himself, totaling several million dollars. Each of the vehicles involved in this scheme were confirmed to have been reported stolen and neither Cleveland nor Affordable Towing had permission to possess, sell, or scrap any of these vehicles.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Missouri Department of Revenue, Compliance and Investigation Bureau, the Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the United States Post Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.