CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK)—Two people have pleaded guilty to a scheme to obtain vehicles from car dealerships in Kentucky and West Virginia.

Court documents say Millard Patrick, 52, and Mindy Turner, 51, admitted that Turner wrote an NSF check at a car dealership in Louisville, Kentucky in June 2021 so they could get a 2020 Ford Explorer d worth about $53,000. . Court documents say the two men then transported the vehicle to West Virginia and attempted to trade it in at a Charleston dealership for a more expensive Ford F-150.

Patrick admitted to telling an employee at the Charleston dealership that he worked for the US Marshal Service and that he would be handing over a check in two days to pay for the exchange. He said he asked the employee to hold a personal check as collateral and not worry if an armed U.S. Deputy Marshal showed up at the dealership to give him the check.

Both Patrick and Turner admitted to writing another NSF check at a Hurricane dealership to get a Jeep Cherokee (worth $60,056.22) in July 2021. They wrote an NSF check at a Ripley dealership the next day for a new Ford Explorer ($59,393.48 value) and tried to get a Ford F-150 ($64,108.24) from a Hurricane dealership. They were turned away when the NSF check was not cashed.

A total of $172,950 worth of vehicles was involved in this scheme.

Both pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the interstate transportation of stolen property.

Turner will be sentenced on July 28, 2022 and Patrick on August 4, 2022. They both face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of probation and a $250,000 fine.