JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A Texas man pled guilty to wire fraud in connection to the purchase of a truck from a Jackson automobile dealership.
According to court documents, Mario Martinez Smiley, of Fort Worth, fraudulently obtained a 2023 Ford Shelby F-150 from a dealership by representing himself to be another individual and using someone else’s credit card number to make a $5,000 down payment on the truck. The truck was valued at $130,850.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Smiley was recruited by an individual in Texas to pick up vehicles in exchange for $1,000 each. He induced a salesperson from the dealership to meet him in Ruston, Louisiana, where he took possession of the truck after posing for a photograph with it.
Smiley was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 4, 2025. He guilty to wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2025. Smiley faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Mario Martinez Smiley (Courtesy: Madison Co. Detention Center)
The United States Secret Service and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office are investigating the case through their partnership in the Cyber Fraud Task Force.
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