The Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse in Downtown Fresno. File photo

A former Clovis auto dealer was sentenced last week to four and a half years in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Scott Radtke, 60, of Clovis, was sentenced on Thursday in federal court in Fresno, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Radtke owned California Motoring Co., a car dealership in Clovis. Beginning as early as Jan. 1, 2016, and continuing through June 2017, Radtke executed a scheme to defraud banks. When customers wanted to buy vehicles that Radtke’s dealership did not have in its inventory, Radtke offered customers the opportunity to buy them from other dealerships.

Radtke received up-front payments from the customers or their banks, but did not give that money to the other dealerships. Instead, he spent it on business and personal expenses. Radtke then signed the customers’ names on sale documents and loan applications, which led banks to issue loans without the customers’ knowledge or authorization. Radtke’s actions involved at least 48 vehicles and over $2 million in fraudulently obtained goods and funds.

This case was the product of an investigation by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Clovis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael G. Tierney and Alexandre M. Dempsey prosecuted the case.

Radtke was ordered to surrender himself on March 10 to begin serving his sentence.