Springfield car dealer fraud case provides reminders and lessons for all consumers

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- On Friday, the open sign was lit and the door open at Queen City Motors. It looked like business as usual on the outside. But, on the inside, the owner is accused of committing crimes against his customers.

OzarksFirst spoke with Chris King last spring about how car sales were doing.

“It has been an absolutely fantastic spring,” he stated. “We have had a couple of record months in a row.”

King was doing much better for himself, than he should have been, according to court documents.
In a 16-page federal court filing, he is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, committing wire fraud, and stealing peoples identities.

Bold letters on the outside of the dealership advertise financing. Court records show that is how King pulled off his scheme. When some customers applied online for pre-approval, he would take their info and use it to take out loan money for himself, totaling almost $800-thousand. The scheme came crumbling down after one of those customers caught it on her credit report.

Mark Stallings, Credit Counselor with Consumer Credit Counseling Services of the Ozarks, said, “Thieves are looking for the easy way out rather than getting out there and earning it themselves.” He added, “It will make it look like you have more loans out there than you actually do. And, when you need it, you can’t get it because somebody else is using it.”

Financial experts say everyone should run a credit report once a year, at the very minimum.

Stallings explained, “The easiest way to do that is for you to be diligent in checking your own and taking responsibility for it.” He continued, “And, what you are looking for on there is fraud and inaccuracies. Because humans may hit the wrong button. Computer glitch. or the thrives that are out there.”