A New York man, Donald Gibson, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding a Sierra County resident of nearly $20,000 in a fraudulent car purchase made via Facebook Marketplace.
In September of 2024, the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to a scam involving a local resident who had paid almost $20,000 for a car that was never delivered. The victim had made the payment, trusting the seller, but was unable to contact them after the transaction.
As the investigation progressed, authorities discovered that Gibson had used fake personal information to create his Facebook profile and the ad for the car. Once the payment was made, he quickly deleted all methods of communication, leaving the victim unable to reach him.
Through diligent investigation, the Sheriff’s Office identified Gibson as the suspect in December 2024. They obtained a warrant for his arrest and, by January 8, 2025, the New York Police Department notified Sierra County authorities that Gibson had been taken into custody in New York.
Gibson was subsequently extradited to Sierra County by the U.S. Marshals Service. He is now being held at the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility in Nevada County, with bail set at $140,000.
