LOS ANGELES (KNX) — A Baldwin Hills man pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge Thursday for tricking people into giving him their luxury vehicles with the promise that he’d find other people to take over their car leases, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Geoffrey Eldridge Hull, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
According to his plea agreement, Hull acknowledges that from April 2016 to Nov. 2019, he marketed himself and his companies as being able to find people to take over leases for high-end and exotic cars from people no longer wishing to continue their leases.
Despite assuring his customers that he was successful in his promises to them, prosecutors said Hull and his companies never found people to take over the leases.
Hull used a longtime friend and business associate to vouch for the quality of the program, prosecutors added.
Instead of finding qualified buyers to take over the leases, Hull offered the luxury cars for rent and passed little of the rent money to the original leaseholders, who were still responsible for their lease payments, prosecutors said.
Hull made few, if any, timely car lease payments and ignored victims’ requests to return their vehicles, which prompted some of the victims to make stolen car reports to law enforcement agencies.
Prosecutors said when the cars were returned — whether it was through law enforcement seizures or repossession — the cars were often damaged, had incurred toll and parking violations, or had been driven over the allotted mileage.
Prosecutors added that when victims complained online about Hull’s operation and wrote negative reviews, he would change the company name and continue the scheme. Some of the company names Hull operated under included Exotic Lease Transfer, Luxe Lease Transfer, Shift Lease, Veer Lease, Torque Transfer, Haven Transfer, and Early Lease.
In total, Hull pleaded guilty to defrauding at least 128 people and caused a loss of at least $1,560,321 for his victims.
U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin scheduled Hull’s sentencing hearing for May 26. Hull is facing a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Related
