Kansas City man sold cars on Facebook, then stole them back from buyers, police say
A Kansas City man is facing several charges related to tampering with a motor vehicle after he allegedly sold vehicles to buyers on Facebook Marketplace before stealing them back.
Mamadou Diallo, 24, faces six counts of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and eight counts of forgery, according to a press release from Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office director of communications Jazzlyn Johnson.
Each of Diallo’s 14 counts carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, Johnson said.
From May 14 to June 14, Kansas City police received eight stolen vehicle reports following a similar pattern, Johnson said.
Diallo would place either a 2013 gray Honda Civic or a 2013 brown Buick Verano for sale on Facebook marketplace, according to a probable cause statement in support of Diallo’s arrest.
After selling the cars, Diallo would steal them back within around a 24-hour period, according to the probable cause statement. Diallo provided several victims with a phone number connected to him, and several victims were able to place him in a lineup. One victim captured Diallo stealing a vehicle on surveillance footage.
In the one-month span, Diallo stole the vehicles back from eight people, according to the probable cause statement, totalling in a combined loss of approximately $24,600.
In an interview with officers, Diallos said he was “unaware of anything to do with selling vehicles,” the probable cause statement said.
When a detective asked if he had used a specific name to sell cars on Facebook Marketplace, Diallo allegedly told the officer, “no, prove it.”
Diallo is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $30,000 cash-only bond, according to the jail’s inmate listing.
He is also being held on failure to appear charges and several holds for other agencies, including Johnson County, Kansas, Johnson County, Missouri, and Platte County.
He is set to appear for a bond review hearing in Jackson County court at 9:15 a.m. on Jan. 27 ., according to court documents.
