Battlefield man charged with defrauding Prime affiliate

A Battlefield man has been indicted for a $785,200 scheme to defraud Success Leasing Inc., an affiliate company of Prime Inc.

Travis Honaker, 35, was charged April 2 with a 25-count indictment comprising 12 counts of wire fraud and 13 counts of money laundering, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

According to the indictment, Honaker allegedly schemed to defraud Success Leasing by sending 109 wire transfers causing $785,200 to be deposited in his bank accounts. The funding came from used vehicles and equipment sold between August 2007 and December 2011.

Honaker worked for Prime subsidiaries Success Leasing and Pedigree Truck Sales, selling used equipment including auxiliary power units and used trucks that Success Leasing had previously leased out to others. After the leases expired and trucks and equipment were returned, Honaker was in charge of selling the used products, according to the release.

Starting in August 2007, Honaker allegedly began collecting finder's fees or deposits from the purchasers of the used trucks without the knowledge or consent of Success Leasing. He allegedly created T&H Consulting LLC in January 2011 to receive the finder's fee and deposits and directed purchasers to wire funds to its account.

The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Gary Milligan and was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Springfield Police Department.