SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A former Springfield used car dealer has been sentenced to prison for wire fraud and identity theft.

Chris King was the former owner of Queen City Motors in Springfield. He entered a guilty plea for the charges in 2021. King fraudulently submitted at least 30 automobile loan applications and received cash deposits of approximately $783,475 between Nov. 2018 and Nov. 2020.

King used information collected from potential customers to apply for auto loans in their names and kept the proceeds from those loans for his own use without the customers’ knowledge.

King was sentenced to four years in prison, according to King’s lawyer Stacie Bilyeu. In addition to the prison time, King was ordered to pay more than $600,000 in restitution.

Bilyeu provided the following statement to OzarksFirst:

“Chris has accepted responsibility for his wrongs and is prepared to pay his debt to society. He has made great changes in his life over the past couple of years and is committed to being a better man upon his release.”