Jury convicts Florida man accused of stripping bank liens from vehicles

FLORIDA – A Florida man has been found guilty by a federal jury of a fraud scheme to strip liens from vehicles and obtain clear titles to the vehicles, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO) has announced.

Jonathan Daniels, 44, of St. Petersburg, has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, said United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.

Daniels faces a maximum penalty of 62 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 5, 2023. Daniels was indicted on August 25, 2021.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Daniels and his co-conspirators were involved in a fraud scheme to strip bank liens from 100 vehicles and obtain clear titles to the vehicles. The conspirators reportedly submitted fraudulent and counterfeit documents and fake certified mail receipts to tax collector offices in Florida to make it look like the vehicles had towing and storage liens.

According to the USAO, doing so enabled the conspirators to obtain clear titles to the vehicles and sell the vehicles to unsuspecting buyers for profit.

One of Daniels’s co-conspirators, Ian McGeehan, has pleaded guilty. His sentencing is scheduled for May 4, 2023.

The U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Florida Highway Patrol investigated this case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.