Bay Area man gets four years for buying a $75,000 Dodge Challenger Hellcat through fraudulent means

A 48-year-old Fairfield man was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Sacramento to four years in prison for one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Steven Daniel Miller also was ordered to pay $36,206 in restitution, said Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith, who made the announcement in a press statement.

According to court documents, in October 2018, Miller used another person’s Social Security number to complete a credit application with a bank in order to purchase a 2018 Dodge Challenger Hellcat at a car dealership in Yuba City.

Based on the false information on the credit application, the bank approved the loan and paid approximately $75,754 to the car dealership. Miller left the dealership with the vehicle, and it was subsequently seized by law enforcement, according to Beckwith, who leads the DOJ’s Eastern District of California.

Miller pleaded guilty in May 2024, but he failed to appear for his sentencing scheduled for October 2024. He was arrested in November 2024 and has been in custody since.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, with help from the the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the Fairfield Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, and the the Rocklin and Gilroy police departments.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow led the prosecution.