Four Charged With Classic Car Conspiracy, Face 20 years In Prison

How unlucky can you be? Three house fires in eight months that resulted in eight classic cars being destroyed would be just about anyone’s nightmare. But now the nightmare is just beginning for Charles Ray Tackett, Lou Teresa Tackett, Michael Ray Tackett, and Anna Grace McGuire, as the four are facing federal conspiracy charges along with wire fraud charges for over insuring eight classic cars, saying the cars had been restored, then cashing in the policies after destroying them in the fires.

The indictment alleges, “To carry out this scheme, members of the conspiracy obtained or attempted to obtain insurance on antique or classic vehicles, each under the fraudulent pretense that the vehicles had been fully restored by Harold Auto Body and were worth significantly more than their actual value. In reality, the vehicles had not been restored by Harold Auto Body. After the vehicles were destroyed in fires, members of the conspiracy sought to collect money for the loss of the vehicles from the insurance carriers.”

A 1971 Cadillac Deville and a 1972 Oldsmobile, belonging to Charles Tackett, were destroyed in a garage fire on December 5, 2009. The cars were insured for $65,200, but that was with full restoration estimates from Harold Auto Body, which according to the indictment, would be inaccurate, as no work were done on the vehicles.

During a house fire on May 26, 2010, three vehicles were destroyed with estimates nearing $100,000. A 1987 Ford F-150, which originally belonged to Lou Tackett, was one of the vehicles and had an estimate of $33,800 based on fully restored estimates. Before the fire, the F-150 was sold to McGuire who allegedly owned a 1979 Trans Am and a 1978 Monte Carlo. The Trans Am and the Monte Carlo were insured for $65,650. The indictment alleges the actual work done on the three vehicles totaled a mere $150 with only the Trans Am receiving any work that was just a repair on a fender.

A 1972 Chevelle, 1980 Firebird, and a 1980 Triumph Spitfire were destroyed in a fire on July 28, 2010. Michael Tackett is alleged to be the owner and even though no work had been performed on the vehicles, they were insured based on estimates for $117,000.

Was it all worth the $250,000 and 20 years in prison each will receive if convicted? Who knows, maybe this really could just the be the most unlucky family in the history of cars. 

About the author

John Gibson

John has been around dirt track racing his entire life. In fact, he was almost born at Monett Speedway in Monett, Missouri. He has raced everything on dirt and asphalt from karts, to Indy cars, to 650 horsepower stock cars in the USAR Pro Cup where he currently races.
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