By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
A version of this story appeared in the Caledonian-Record.
BURLINGTON – A former automotive parts manager is due to admit in federal court this month to a mail fraud charge for illegally obtaining nearly $600,000 from one of the top Central Vermont car dealerships.
Robert McLane, 35, last known from Plainfield, is charged with defrauding Formula Nissan on U.S. 302 in the town of Berlin, according to records filed in U.S. District Court.
McLane would order vehicle suspension lift kits valued at $2,300 to $2,900 each and then steal them by selling them on Facebook at substantially discounted prices, the criminal charge notes.
He would use the Federal Express account for Formula Nissan to ship the kits across the United States, records show. Formula and its insurance company suffered an out-of-pocket loss of at least $575,000, court records show.
Attempts to reach McLane were unsuccessful.
McLane has signed a 9-page plea agreement that says he will plead guilty to the felony charge filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont. It said he has waived indictment by a federal grand jury.
McLane is due to appear before Judge Christina Reiss in U.S. District Court in Burlington on June 18 to enter his guilty plea, court records show.
Besides admitting the mail fraud charge, McLane also will agree to a criminal forfeiture of $575,000 that he unlawfully obtained, the signed plea agreement said.
McLane was employed at the Nissan sales and service dealership from March 2019 to September 23, 2022, court records show. He served as parts manager and later as Director of Parts and Service.
He was expected to supervise other employees, order, receive and pay for automotive parts needed by the auto dealership. Much of the ordering was through Nissan North America, using software known as the Dealer Management System.
Between January 2021 and his departure in September 2022, McLane developed a scheme that allowed him to sell more than 200 kits off the books, records show.
Nissan Formula’s owner, Jack Castellaneta did not respond to a message seeking comment. The former law enforcement officer is active with the Vermont Vehicle and Automotive Distributors Association (VADA), a trade group representing the industry. VADA lists him as its current president.
The FBI was called in to conduct the investigation when the fraud was uncovered, officials said.
Judge Reiss is expected to order a Presentence Investigation Report by the U.S. Probation Office.
McLane could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison, followed by up to 3 years on supervised release and fined up to $250,000. He also faces a full restitution order.
A sentence on the low end of the federal sentencing guidelines would be recommended, according to the lawyers on both sides of the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples and Assistant Federal Defender Steven L. Barth.
McLane is asking the court for credit toward his sentence by him accepting reasonability early and by not fighting the case.