An Arizona auto mechanic has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and must pay $1.37 million in restitution after defrauding multiple customers, including one in Missouri, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced last week.
Andres “Manny” Lopez, 37, ran All Performance Tuning and Diesel Repair LLC. Starting in November 2019, he took money from customers for vehicles, upgrades, and parts—but never delivered the goods or services. According to prosecutors, he even damaged vehicles and loaned out customer cars without permission.
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One Missouri victim wired Lopez $45,000 to buy a Toyota RAV4 for his mother. Lopez claimed to have purchased the SUV, then spun a series of excuses, blaming delivery delays on recalls. At one point, he even impersonated a Florida Toyota dealership’s general manager via text to the victim’s mother.
After his October 2023 indictment, Lopez went on to scam another victim out of nearly $568,000. Prosecutors say he used the funds for personal expenses.
In court, a victim described Lopez’s behavior as a cycle: “Promise… then a reason why I cannot meet that promise… then a new promise… then repeat the string (for years).”
Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in February.
“Andres Lopez lied to customers to line his pockets for years. The lies and manipulation continued even after he had been charged for the crime and released on bond,” said FBI St. Louis Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker. “Today, Lopez earned every day of his prison sentence for victimizing people with his fraudulent business practices.”
The FBI led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is handling the prosecution.
