HOUSTON (Covering Katy News) – A 52-year-old man who advertised himself as the "Used Car King of New York" has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiring to commit wire fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Octavian Ocasio was sentenced after pleading guilty a year ago to conspiring with others residing in Texas to buy and sell thousands of fraudulent state-issued temporary buyer tags for cars outside of Texas without a legitimate vehicle purchase.
U.S. District Judge George Hanks has now ordered Ocasio to serve nearly four-and-a-half years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
At the hearing, the court heard how Ocasio and others engaged in widespread fraud to use fictitious car dealerships to generate and sell Texas temporary buyer tags without selling cars, making false promises and assurances that it was legal.
The court also ordered Ocasio to pay the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles restitution of $324,600.
"If it seems like there are more cars driving around the streets of Houston with temporary paper plates, you would be correct, in part thanks to the hundreds of thousands of fake paper plates Ocasio sold to Texas drivers," said Hamdani. "Ocasio's fake plates would come back to a car that was never sold or sold to drivers, who never should have been issued plates in the first place.
Because of this, Texas recently changed the way paper plates are issued.
"It's not every day that one of our cases leads to changes in the law, so I'm extremely proud of our FBI Houston agents and our partners who maneuvered through the complexities and scale of this investigation in the name of justice," said Acting Special Agent in Charge David Martinez of the FBI. "Ocasio was one of several who, for too long, allowed thousands of drivers across the country to ride around with fraudulent paper license plates- all just to save a few dollars. Now, he'll have to park himself inside a federal prison to pay for his crimes."
Ocasio and his co-conspirators pocketed more than $200 million from their illegal activity which exploited the state of Texas and allowed unsafe vehicles on our streets with uninsured and unlicensed drivers at the wheel."
Ocasio and co-conspirators used the internet to buy and sell the fraudulent state-issued buyer tags and exchange proceeds from the illegal tag sales.
During his plea, Ocasio acknowledged that he and his co-conspirators communicated through Gmail, Instagram and Facebook accounts to receive and deliver fraudulent buyer tags to purchasers all over the United States, including New York, Florida, and Washington, D.C.
He also admitted he and his co-conspirators advertised the state-issued buyer tags on social media platforms and received and shared fraud proceeds via electronic payment services such as Cash App and Zelle.
Emmanuel Padilla Reyes, also known as Christian Hernandez Bonilla or Noel Rivera is still a fugitive in this case.
The FBI offers a $5,000 reward to anyone providing information that directly leads to his arrest. Those with information about the fugitive's location should call 1-800-CALL-FBI or email www.TIPS.FBI.GOV
The FBI investigated with the assistance of the Travis County Precinct 3 Constable's Office, Houston Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, Harris County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police, and New York City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Adam Goldman prosecuted the case.