Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Connection with Theft of Vehicle from Local Dealership

Jackson, Mississippi – A Texas man pleaded guilty today to wire fraud in connection with the fraudulent purchase of a 2023 Ford Shelby F-150 valued at $130,850 from a local automobile dealership.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2023, Mario Martinez Smiley, 56, of Fort Worth, Texas, fraudulently obtained an expensive truck from a Jackson dealership by representing himself to be another individual and using someone else’s credit card number to make a $5,000 down payment on the truck. Smiley was recruited by an individual in Texas to pick up vehicles in exchange for $1,000 each. Smiley induced a salesperson from the dealership to meet him in Ruston, Louisiana, where he took possession of the truck after posing for a photograph with it.

Smiley was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 4, 2025. Smiley pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis, and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch made the announcement.

The United States Secret Service and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office are investigating the case through their partnership in the Cyber Fraud Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.