Brian Baker, 53, of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering on Tuesday, admitting his involvement in a multi-year fraud scheme that defrauded Dealers Auto Auction Group of more than $2 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee announced the guilty plea, which also implicated Stephanie Louise Baker, 54, of Mount Juliet, and Jerry W. Hutchins, 50, of Dowelltown.
Between February 2017 and November 2018, Stephanie Baker, who served as the general manager of Dealers Auto Auction Group’s Murfreesboro location, worked with Brian Baker and Hutchins to create fraudulent transactions. The defendants used these fake transactions to make it appear as though their used car dealerships had sold vehicles at the auction. This scheme led to the unauthorized issuance of payments from Dealers Auto Auction Group to businesses owned by Brian Baker and Hutchins.
To conceal the fraud and evade detection, the defendants reused the same vehicles in multiple fake transactions each month. This pattern of deception continued over several months, ultimately costing the auction group over $2 million.
The three defendants face serious charges, with potential sentences of up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy and concealment money laundering charges, and up to 10 years for domestic transaction money laundering.
Court documents also indicate that the government has requested money judgments in the amount of $2,041,170 from Stephanie Baker, $1,357,310 from Brian Baker, and $683,830 from Hutchins to recover the fraudulent funds.
