The super-rich are often very careful when buying expensive cars and especially supercars. Michael Mente - CEO of revolve was a victim of this scam when he was scammed into owning a Mercedes-AMG One supercar.
Traveon Rogers, a Texas resident, was accused of being behind the scandal. He impersonated Jean-Pierre Mr. Clement a French auto dealership to build trust. When Mente searched for the Mercedes-AMG One in 2021, Rogers used his lawyer to connect with Mente. He claimed to be the exclusive dealer and claimed to have the right to distribute this supercar. Because he loves supercars, Mente agreed to spend 5.4 million USD and wait for the car to be produced and delivered.
However, after many months of waiting, Mente unexpectedly received a notice from the US Department of Homeland Security in 2022 that his money had disappeared and the character Clement had completely disappeared. Mente is currently trying to reclaim the money from Rogers and demand damages.
Rogers has not been accused of fraud for the first time. In 2023, he was sued for trying to sell another fake Mercedes-AMG One and earning $3.19 million (about 80.7 billion VND). In addition, Rogers has also faced accusations of forging contracts, forging bank documents and impersonating Aston Martin representatives. Investigations into his wrongdoings have attracted the attention of the online detective community.
Mercedes-AMG One - the model that Mente expects to own is not an ordinary car. Only 275 are produced worldwide. With a 1.6-liter hybrid engine from Mercedes' F1, this car produces up to 1,048 horsepower and can reach a speed of 100km/h in 2.9 seconds.
Initially, the price of this supercar was 2.7 million USD (about 68.3 billion VND) but now its value has skyrocketed and old models are worth many millions of USD.
