A Colchester man has been charged in an alleged scam to buy and sell Tesla vehicles valued at more than $600,000, including one that was mysteriously found burned on a frozen portion of Shelburne Bay more than two years ago.
Michael A. Gonzalez, 32, appeared Tuesday in federal court in Burlington after a grand jury returned a five-count indictment against Gonzalez, charging him with the illegal possession and sale of stolen motor vehicles.
The indictment alleges that, between September 2018 and January of this year, Gonzalez obtained five Tesla motor vehicles worth about $607,000 from dealerships in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Florida, but that he shorted the dealerships the money and then tried to resell the cars.
Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing on Friday, and at a follow-up hearing Tuesday, Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle agreed to release him on conditions pending trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Davis, the prosecutor in the case, objected to releasing Gonzales. David had argued that Gonzalez posed a risk to reoffend and a threat to the safety of witnesses in the case, if released.
Chandler Matson, a Stowe attorney representing Gonzalez, countered that his client merited release on conditions. Matson said Gonzalez is a lifelong Vermont resident with strong family ties to the state.
“His entire life is here,” Matson said.
According to the allegations, Gonzalez made an initial payment of roughly $2,500 to Tesla Inc. for each vehicle, then arranged for electronic funds transfers to cover the balance of the vehicle’s price from accounts that either lacked sufficient funds or were fictitious.
Davis, speaking during Tuesday’s hearing, said Gonzalez had given Tesla account information that belonged to former girlfriends as well as one for his mother, which had just $100 in it at the time.
Gonzalez obtained the vehicles before Tesla Inc. learned of his failure to complete the payments, prosecutors alleged. He then resold or tried to resell four of the five vehicles, prosecutors said. He was never issued the paperwork needed to resell the fifth vehicle, which was later found burned on a frozen portion of Shelburne Bay on Feb. 24, 2019, prosecutors said.
Gonzalez filed an insurance claim for the value of the burned-out Tesla, prosecutors said, but the insurance company denied the claim.
Tesla is the California-based maker of a popular line of high-end electric cars.
Davis, the prosecutor, said in court Tuesday that Gonzalez has a record of 10 misdemeanor convictions and one felony conviction. That felony conviction was on a federal charge of providing false information in an attempt to obtain a firearm, Davis said.
Meanwhile, Davis told the court, the U.S. Secret Service investigation in the Tesla case uncovered other possible crimes committed by Gonzalez, including submitting false paperwork to the state Department of Motor Vehicles and “likely arson.”
“The evidence against Mr. Gonzalez is powerful,” the prosecutor said.
While the prosecutor hinted at an arson case against Gonzalez, he has not been charged with setting the Tesla on fire on the ice on Shelburne Bay.
Matson, Gonzalez’s attorney, said in court that his client should be allowed to remain free while awaiting trial on the Tesla charges.
When Gonzalez was sentenced just four months ago on the federal charge of submitting false information in an attempt to obtain a firearm, Matson said, he was sentenced to supervised release and abided by those terms.
Also, Matson said, sending Gonzalez to prison could expose his client to Covid-19 behind bars. He said his client had previously contracted the virus in prison “and it didn’t go well.”
Doyle, the magistrate judge, released Gonzalez on conditions pending trial, including a ban on contacting government witnesses in the case.
“I’m giving you this opportunity to return to the community,” Doyle told Gonzalez.
Matson, asked for a comment after the hearing Tuesday, said, “I’m glad that we live in a country where everyone enjoys due process.”
