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Two crooked RV dealers who swindled Arizona residents in a consignment sale
scheme will have a while to think about their victims – behind bars. Arizona
Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced the owners of multiple Tucson RV
consignment businesses will go to prison for their role in defrauding 24
victims out of $423,542. Lorenzo Caracciolo Sr. was sentenced to five years in
prison and his son, Lorenzo Caracciolo Jr., was sentenced to two and a half
years in prison.
“This is an appropriate and just sentence,” said Attorney
General Mark Brnovich. “The victims suffered life-altering financial losses.
Their testimony and cooperation helped ensure these scammers won’t be harming
other Arizona
families anytime soon.”
For more than three years, from January 2010 through October
2013, Lorenzo Caracciolo Sr. and Lorenzo Caracciolo Jr. used their RV
consignment business to scam 24 victims out of thousands of dollars. Most of
the victims are elderly. Their financial losses range from $3,400 to over
$79,000 individually. The Caracciolo’s executed their fraud scheme by entering
into an agreement to sell a used RV on consignment with the RV’s owner. The
Cacacciolo’s would then tell the owner that the RV had sold for a lower
purchase price than had been offered and would pocket the additional proceeds. Additionally,
defendants would deposit the entire sale proceeds into a personal bank account,
and never transfer any money from the completed sale to the owner. Defendants
employed their scheme through three business entities, Canyon State RV, Kickin’
Kampers, and RV Coachworks.
On November 17, 2014, the Attorney General’s Office obtained
State Grand Jury indictments charging the Caracciolo’s with 14 felony counts,
including one count of Illegally Conducting an Enterprise , one count of Fraudulent Schemes
and Artifices, six counts of Theft, and six counts of Forgery.
The defendants pleaded guilty on June 10, 2015. Lorenzo
Caracciolo, Sr. pleaded guilty to Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices and Theft.
Lorenzo Caracciolo, Jr. pleaded guilty to two counts of Theft.
On Monday, the Honorable Christopher Browning sentenced
Lorenzo Caracciolo, Sr. to five years in prison followed by a seven year
probation term upon his release from prison. Judge Browning sentenced Lorenzo
Caracciolo, Jr. to two and a half years prison followed by a four year
probation term upon his release from prison. In addition to the prison
sentences, both defendants were ordered to pay more than $400,000 in
restitution to their victims.
