Galveston County Man Sentenced to Decades Behind Bars for Brazen Classic Car Theft Scheme
A Galveston County man has been handed a lengthy prison sentence for his brazen scheme to swindle classic car owners out of thousands of dollars and steal over two million dollars' worth of car parts. Richard Thomas Finley, the owner of "Classic American Street Rods," was found guilty last December of felony theft and was sentenced to 60 years in prison by Judge Jeth Jones on Tuesday.
According to authorities, Finley would target classic car owners with promises to upgrade their engines at a reduced cost, only to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them upfront and then disappear for months or even years without making any progress on the work. When confronted by his victims, Finley would lie about the status of the engine swap, officials said.
Finley's scheme was exposed after several victims came forward to report their losses, with law enforcement recovering over 20 classic cars and more than $498,000 in stolen funds from his victims between 2018 and 2023. The investigation revealed 72 victims in total, making Finley one of the most prolific classic car thieves in recent history.
The sentence is a significant blow to Finley, who had been evading justice for years through his deceitful tactics. His sentencing comes after a week-long trial, during which prosecutors called 28 of his victims to testify about how he lied to them and stole their money.
Finley's case highlights the dangers of scams targeting vulnerable car enthusiasts and the importance of being cautious when dealing with individuals who promise to upgrade or repair classic vehicles at reduced costs. As one victim described, "He would take our money and then just disappear... It was like we were nothing more than a means to an end for him."
A Galveston County man has been handed a lengthy prison sentence for his brazen scheme to swindle classic car owners out of thousands of dollars and steal over two million dollars' worth of car parts. Richard Thomas Finley, the owner of "Classic American Street Rods," was found guilty last December of felony theft and was sentenced to 60 years in prison by Judge Jeth Jones on Tuesday.
According to authorities, Finley would target classic car owners with promises to upgrade their engines at a reduced cost, only to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them upfront and then disappear for months or even years without making any progress on the work. When confronted by his victims, Finley would lie about the status of the engine swap, officials said.
Finley's scheme was exposed after several victims came forward to report their losses, with law enforcement recovering over 20 classic cars and more than $498,000 in stolen funds from his victims between 2018 and 2023. The investigation revealed 72 victims in total, making Finley one of the most prolific classic car thieves in recent history.
The sentence is a significant blow to Finley, who had been evading justice for years through his deceitful tactics. His sentencing comes after a week-long trial, during which prosecutors called 28 of his victims to testify about how he lied to them and stole their money.
Finley's case highlights the dangers of scams targeting vulnerable car enthusiasts and the importance of being cautious when dealing with individuals who promise to upgrade or repair classic vehicles at reduced costs. As one victim described, "He would take our money and then just disappear... It was like we were nothing more than a means to an end for him."
60 years in prison is definitely a harsh sentence, but I mean it's about time someone caught this guy. Classic car owners are already super passionate and vulnerable to scams, so you have to feel sorry for them when they fall victim to something like this. 
He was just taking advantage of people who trusted him, and it's disgusting how he would lie to them and disappear with their money 
. I'm glad the victims came forward and reported their losses, that must've been super hard for them to do. The fact that 72 people were affected is crazy, so yeah, this sentence should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of pulling a stunt like this in the future 
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60 years is a pretty harsh sentence but I guess you can't put a price on people's trust and safety. What really gets me is how he'd target these car owners who are often just enthusiasts, not making a profit off their investments. I mean, I've heard of scams before but this one takes the cake - stealing parts worth over 2 million dollars! 
this guy is literally the ultimate scammer 
, I mean, 60 years in prison? That's a looong time 
! I'm so glad his victims came forward and reported their losses, it was like they were trapped in some kind of nightmare 
. I mean, who targets people with promises of cheap engine swaps? 
but can you believe how many people he scammed? over 70! that's wild. i mean, i remember when my dad bought me that old muscle car and we would take it to these little meets in the park and everyone would be like "oh nice car!" now a days it's all about them thieves and scammers... anyway, at least he got caught right? guess you could say justice was served 
. i guess that's what happens when you prey on vulnerable people - nobody wants to believe they've been scammed 
. anyway, at least now he'll have time to think about what he did and probably come up with some lame excuse for why he should only get half the sentence 
. I mean, can't believe he preyed on so many innocent people who were just trying to show off their classic cars 
. Those poor victims must have been left with nothing but a big hole in their wallets and a lot of stress 
. What really gets me is that this guy was evading justice for years, using his charm to swindle people out of thousands of dollars 
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This guy is literally stealing from people who can't even afford their car maintenance fees 
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. I mean, can you even believe he thought he could get away with scamming people out of their life savings for years? 
. And can you believe he stole over 2 million dollars worth of car parts?! That's just insane 
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. But this guy? He's just a scam artist trying to make a quick buck off people's passion projects 
. I mean, he's been dodging justice for way too long. Hopefully, this sentence sends a message that these types of scams won't be tolerated 
72 victims is crazy though, can you imagine being one of them? 
He's not just some small-time thief who only took from a few people; he had this massive scheme going on for years, and it's shocking that more people didn't come forward sooner. 
And those victims, oh man... it's heartbreaking to think they got taken advantage of by someone who was supposed to be helping them fix their cars. 
, 60 years is actually pretty lenient if you ask me 
. I mean, the dude stole over two million dollars' worth of car parts and scammed out hundreds of thousands from innocent people? That's some serious karma avoidance 
. I think he should be getting a life sentence, easy 
. All those classic cars and cash he swindled out of people could've been used for good instead of lining his pockets. But hey, who needs rehabilitation when you can just give him more time behind bars? 
. And to think he was preying on these poor car enthusiasts who just wanted to keep their babies running smoothly... he's got some serious nerve