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Fraud charges were recently unsealed in a 21-page indictment against two former Illinois boat dealership employees in a case that marine industry experts say is rare, but that offers an opportunity for boat buyers to think about how to choose a reputable broker or dealer.
Jeffrey D. Gibbs and Kara M. Wilkey, both former employees of Clinton Marine II, which sold used and new boats, are facing decades in prison on a combined 18 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Central Illinois, the two obtained loans on fictitious boats, took out loans using forged signatures, sold boats without paying off the customer’s loan or remitting payment, and collected payments for taxes, titles and fees without actually paying for those expenses. Instead, the indictment alleges, Gibbs and Wilkey used the more than $2 million to buy automobiles, take vacations, go shopping and otherwise “support their lifesty