SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento residents Roderick Rigmaiden and his wife Onjale Nettles were recently sentenced to a collective 12 years and 8 months in prison for defrauding local car dealerships out of almost $250,000.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 37-year-old Rigmaiden and 32-year-old Nettles stole mail to obtain and use the victims' identities for fraudulent purchases.
The couple bought and financed one-quarter of a million dollars worth of vehicles from dealerships across Sacramento, the Bay Are and Orange County.
Officials say Rigmaiden was a prolific mail thief tied to many postal burglaries of; postal boxes, apartment complex mailboxes and mail trucks.
"Rigmaiden and Nettles used stolen identities to fraudulently purchase and finance at least seven cars [and attempt an eighth] from auto dealerships," U.S. Attorney's officials said Tuesday.
Stolen identities were used to secure a down payment on the vehicles, with the remainder of the purchase secured by an auto loan.
Rigmaiden was sentenced to 6 years and 9 months in prison, while Nettles was sentenced to 5 years and 11 months in prison.
