Springfield woman pleads guilty to fraud scheme connected with towing business

A Springfield woman has pleaded guilty to her role in a fraud scheme connected to a local towing business.

Christie Engle, 49, pleaded guilty to a count each of mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, according to a news release from the office of R. Matthew Price, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Those are the same counts that Affordable Towing owner Dennis Cleveland pleaded guilty to in December. 

Engle, as an employee of Cleveland, admitted to participating in a mail fraud scheme in which false documents were submitted to the Missouri Department of Revenue to obtain mechanics liens and titles for vehicles that had been reported stolen, according to the release.

At the direction of Cleveland, Engle submitted fraudulent documents that claimed to have the permission of the vehicles' owners. Obtaining substitute or replacement mechanics liens and vehicle titles allowed Cleveland to sell the vehicles through Affordable Towing, law enforcement officials say. If replacement liens or titles could not be obtained, the vehicles were sold to a local scrapyard.

"Each of the vehicles involved in this scheme were confirmed to have been reported stolen, and Engle, Cleveland or Affordable Towing did not have permission to possess, sell or scrap any of these vehicles," officials said in the release.

Under federal statutes, Engle is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole for the mail fraud offense, up to 10 years for money laundering and two years, to run concurrently, for aggravated identity theft. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney and investigated by the Missouri Department of Revenue's Compliance and Investigation Bureau, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS' Criminal Investigation division and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to the release.

Springfield Business Journal is seeking comment from Engle's attorney. Cleveland's legal representation did not respond to a request for comment last month.