A St. Louis man was indicted today on multiple charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and bribery, all involving his operation of a towing and impounding facility affiliated with the St. Louis Police Department.
According to the indictment, Gregory P. Shepard served as the General Operations Manager for S & H Parking Systems and its affiliated businesses, St. Louis Metropolitan Towing and Parks Auto Sales, all operating out of the same location. St. Louis Metropolitan Towing has a contract with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to tow vehicles designated by the department. Parks Auto issues vehicle titles and sells a large number of vehicles towed by St. Louis Metropolitan Towing.
The indictment alleges that between approximately October 2004 and August 2008, Shepard devised a scheme to defraud vehicle owners, lien holders and purchasers of vehicles towed by St. Louis Metropolitan Towing and affiliated businesses. Despite representations made to the Missouri Department of Revenue, Shepard and others either gave no notice or delayed notice to vehicle owners and/or lien holders of vehicles towed and impounded by St. Louis Metropolitan Towing. The delay or lack of notice resulted in artificially inflated impound fees or in the improper confiscation and sale of the owner’s vehicle by one of Shepard’s businesses.
On other occasions, Shepard falsely told vehicle owners or lien holders that vehicles were no longer held by St. Louis Metropolitan Towing or its affiliated companies when the vehicles were actually still being held by St. Louis Metropolitan Towing or its affiliated companies. On many occasions, Shepard allegedly made false statements to titled owners of towed vehicles, which resulted in artificially inflated storage fees.
According to the indictment, an employee from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department passed vehicles for inspection despite obvious flaws. Shepard made many cash payments to the employee of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for conducting these faulty inspections.
In addition, according to the indictment, between approximately October 2004 and August 2008, Shepard defrauded Avis/Budget Group by fraudulently inflating mileage on rental cars towed by St. Louis Metropolitan Towing.
The indictment also charges that Shepard, being a member of the Board of the St. Louis Policemen’s Credit Union, notarized a Bill of Sale showing that a vehicle repossessed earlier from a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer was being purchased from the St. Louis Policemen’s Credit Union by an independent third party known as Grant Auto Sales. The vehicle was actually purchased by Parks Auto Sales for $1,400, resold by Parks Auto Sales for $3,100, and the profit of $1,700 was never returned to the St. Louis Policemen’s Credit Union.
If convicted, Sheppard faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 for mail fraud, a maximum penalty of ten years prison and/or fines up to $250,000 for bribery, a maximum of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 for wire fraud, and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1,000,000 for false entries.
The case was investigated and prosecuted by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Postal Inspection Service and Assistant United States Attorney’s Jeffrey Jensen and Hal Goldsmith, who are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.