St. Louis man sentenced to 12 years in prison for $1.7M check fraud scheme

A St. Louis man, 34-year-old Valentino Colic, was sentenced to 145 months in federal prison for orchestrating a large-scale car fraud scheme that exploited over 100 victims across eight states. Colic pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He led a criminal operation that involved fraudulent transactions and identity theft, re-victimizing those whose identities were stolen.

The criminal scheme involved purchasing vehicles using counterfeit cashier's checks that looked legitimate but contained incorrect banking information. Colic and his co-conspirators, Alen Saric, Almir Palic, and Emad Hasanbegovic, targeted sellers on platforms like Craigslist and Facebook, posing as agents of the original owners. They demanded photos of sellers' driver's licenses, enabling them to impersonate these victims during quick resales of the purchased vehicles before the fraudulent checks could bounce.

According to a government memorandum, victims attempted to cash 55 fraudulent checks from November 2018 to August 2023, totaling nearly $1.7 million in intended losses. The men used stolen identities to further their scheme and even established a facsimile of a bank's phone system to mislead victims. A significant aspect of their operation involved a car dealership called EliteMotors.Stl, opened by Colic and his wife and used as a front for their fraudulent activities.

The dealership was eventually shut down and liquidated before federal charges were filed. Among the victims was an individual whose identity was misused so extensively that he faced accusations of stealing vehicles and was wrongly charged with odometer fraud. Other co-conspirators also faced legal consequences, with Saric pleading guilty and awaiting sentencing, while Palic received a 51-month sentence.

U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft emphasized the importance of vigilance, advising the public to verify checks from unknown individuals with issuing banks before completing transactions. The case highlights the sophistication of modern fraud schemes and the serious consequences for those involved in such criminal activities.