A Baldwin Hills man is scheduled to be arraigned later Thursday on federal charges for allegedly conning victims across the nation into giving him high-end and exotic vehicles with bogus promises that he would find other people to take over their leases.
Geoffrey Eldridge Hull, 40, who maintained offices on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, was arrested Wednesday evening by special agents with Homeland Security Investigations on a federal grand jury indictment that charges him with six counts of wire fraud related to his so-called lease consignment program, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
If convicted as charged, Hull would face up to 120 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
Hull allegedly marketed himself and the various companies he operated as being able to find individuals to take over luxury automobile leases from people who wanted out of the leases on Bentleys, Ferraris, Porsches, Maseratis and other high-end vehicles.
Hull agreed to cover monthly lease payments and promised leaseholders that he would quickly find a “credit-qualified buyer to legally assume the lease through the original finance company,” according to the indictment, which further alleges that Hull used a longtime friend and business associate to vouch for the quality of the program.
Despite assuring victims that his venture was successful, Hull and his companies did not find people to take over the leases, the indictment alleges. Instead, Hull offered the luxury cars for rent and passed little of the rent money onto the original leaseholders, who were still responsible for lease payments, prosecutors allege.
Hull routinely ignored victims’ requests for the return of their vehicles, prompting some to make stolen car reports to law enforcement agencies, court documents allege.
The cars that were returned after law enforcement seizures, repossession and other means were often damaged, had incurred toll and parking violations, and had been driven over the allotted mileage, federal prosecutors allege.
“Customers and local and federal law enforcement repeatedly told Hull his business was fraudulent, Hull was sued civilly several times for fraud and intentional misrepresentation, he received dozens of demand letters from attorneys, and he was interviewed by the media about his failure to make lease payments as promised,” according to a criminal complaint previously filed in the case.
When victims posted negative reviews online about Hull and his company, he would change his company name and resume the scheme, prosecutors allege.
The company names Hull allegedly used to operate the scheme included Exotic Lease Transfer, Luxe Lease Transfer, Shift Lease, Veer Lease, Torque Transfer, Haven Transfer, Early Lease and Open Lease Transfer. Hull, who has three prior convictions for grand theft auto, also allegedly used a series of aliases as part of the scheme.
Investigators have, so far, identified 115 alleged victims from around the nation with estimated losses exceeding $1 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Investigators believe there are still unidentified victims, and anyone with information is encouraged to call the tip line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423).