Florida man had but $5, still landed luxuryrides

A Florida man is facing multiple fraud charges following a creative but shortsighted con job. Using just $5, a new bank account, some bunk cheques and a whole lot of cojones, the hustler was able to get himself behind the wheel of not one or two but four luxury vehicles from Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti. The ruse didn’t last long, and the man, Keith Greene, was eventually arrested, according to WFLA, but we imagine he got in some solid joyriding before the authorities came for him and his cars.

Police said it began when Greene opened a checking account at a local credit union, into which he deposited $5. Then he got himself a handful of cheques and headed out to make some bad decisions. Greene allegedly reached out to Cars Inc. in Tampa, charmed the owner — a 50year auto sales veteran who said Greene seemed “nicer than you” and “professed Christian values” — signed a pair of bogus cheques for more than US$40,000 and drove out with a Mercedes and a Range Rover (we’re assuming he made two trips). Police said he repeated the transactions with another trusting dealership, Lokey Infiniti in Clearwater, Fla., which handed over the keys to a second Mercedes and an Infiniti. They were the ones who called the authorities and eventually got Greene arrested and charged with scheming to defraud and obtaining a vehicle with intent to defraud. Police were able to get the Mercedes back, but the Infiniti is still out there somewhere, as are the first two vehicles.

Judd Cook, the owner of Cars Inc. who sold the Mercedes and Range Rover, said the strangest part was the constant communication he had with Greene. “He stayed in touch with me via text messages for six weeks, saying he was going to take care of it,” he said.