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[FONT=arial, helvetica][FONT=verdana,arial]February 24, 2009[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Detroit man charged with impersonating ATF agent[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]BY DAVID ASHENFELTER[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER[/FONT]A 37-year-old Detroit man was charged today with impersonating a federal agent after allegedly conning two women out of nearly $10,000 in an auto auction scam.
Samuel Montelle Allen was charged in a federal criminal complaint with telling both women that he was an agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He allegedly told the women that he worked on the side at a police auction in Romulus and could purchase police-confiscated vehicles before the public had a chance to bid on them.
One woman gave him $5,700, believing he would buy a 2008 Cadillac truck and a 2007 Mercury Marauder for her and her son, the complaint said. The woman’s friend allegedly paid Allen $3,700 for a 2007 Chrysler 300 and a 2008 Monte Carlo for $3,700, court documents said.
After failing to produce the cars, Allen quit taking calls from the women, the complaint said.
Authorities were alerted and Allen was arrested Monday after he allegedly accepted a $2,700 down payment from an undercover ATF agent for the purchase of a Ford Flex.
Allen was expected to appear in U.S. District Court today on a charge of impersonating a federal officer carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
ATF spokeswoman Vera Fedorak said the agency is trying to find out if Allen conned anyone else in the scam. The ATF can be reached at 800-ATF-GUNS anytime, she said.
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