Man impersonated drug agent, lawyer in series of scams, authorities say

A Macon man has been charged with impersonating a federal agent and a lawyer, as well as collecting payments while trying to sell cars he didn’t own.

Robert Vincent Riley, 31, is charged with impersonating an officer, unauthorized practice of law, identity fraud, theft of services, two counts of theft by conversion, four counts of giving false information in an application for a title, and six counts of theft by deception, according to accusations filed in Bibb County Superior Court. An accusation is a charging document similar to an indictment, but an accusation doesn’t require grand jury action.

Riley has been held at the Bibb County jail since Sept. 22, according to jail records.

Here are the allegations against Riley:

▪ Between July and September 2015, Riley represented himself as an attorney and took $3,042 from a man for legal services he couldn’t provide, according to court records and arrest warrants.

▪ In January 2016, he told a woman he was a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent to mislead the woman, according to court records. The woman told Bibb County deputies that Riley had threatened her and other people, according to a sheriff’s office incident report.

▪ Riley is accused of trying to sell multiple cars in July and August, taking nearly $18,000 in payments from buyers. In most cases, the buyers never received the vehicles, according to sheriff’s office reports, arrest warrants and court records.

The records indicated that he didn’t own the cars and had no legal right to sell them.

In one case, Riley did deliver a Mercedes to a buyer after allegedly stealing it from Macon’s Import Auto Mall under the pretense that he was test driving it. Riley failed to return the car, but the buyer — after determining it was stolen — returned the car to the dealership, according to arrest warrants.

Riley is also accused of including false information in applications for car titles relating to sales.

▪ In August 2016, Riley allegedly took a Mercedes on a test drive, saying he’d return it after having the car inspected by a mechanic, but failed to return the car. He’s accused of trying to sell the car instead.

▪ In May, Riley reportedly told a man at Barrington Golf Course about a fake business plan and convinced the man to loan him $470 and a set of golf clubs. Riley didn’t return the money or golf clubs, according to a sheriff’s office report. Arrest warrants show Riley later pawned the clubs without the man’s permission.

▪ Riley also is accused of staying at a Macon Baymont Inn, accruing $690 in charges with the intent to avoid payment, according to court documents and an arrest warrant.

Court records show Riley has a criminal past that includes pleading guilty to two counts of impersonating a Bibb County deputy in 2014. He was sentenced to two years on probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine.

This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Man impersonated drug agent, lawyer in series of scams, authorities say."