A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted three men on 117 felony counts, accusing them of running a multi-year scheme that used fake Facebook Marketplace accounts to lure dirt bike and ATV sellers to Cleveland, only to steal their vehicles during staged test drives. Antonio Odom, 25, Michael Atkins, 24, and Timothy Neal, 28, each face charges including Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity in connection with the operation.
According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, the scheme ran from May 2021 through November 2025 and involved at least 55 thefts of dirt bikes and ATVs from sellers across the country. Cleveland Police, which retweeted news of the indictments, described the operation on social media as a Facebook Marketplace theft scheme spanning over four years, a detail that lines up with prosecutors' own timeline. The Cleveland Police post pointed followers to the prosecutor's office for the full breakdown of the 117 counts.
How the Scam Worked
Investigators say the suspects built a rotating cast of fraudulent Facebook Marketplace personas using generic names such as Anthony Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Chris Johnson, John Williams, Jack Ryan, and Joseph Smith to contact sellers listing dirt bikes and ATVs online, per the same account from prosecutors. The interchangeable aliases allowed the group to keep creating fresh accounts once a theft was complete, making it harder for victims or platforms to trace the pattern back to a single source.
To get sellers to make the trip to Cleveland, group members reportedly offered cash payments above the asking price, promised payment on delivery, and sent photos of large stacks of cash to build trust. The prosecutor's office notes that suspects also asked sellers for photos documenting their transport of the vehicle along with real-time ETA updates, keeping tabs on victims as they drove into the city. Once a seller arrived at an agreed meeting spot, someone from the group would ask to test-drive the bike or ATV, then simply ride off without paying, leaving the seller stranded in an unfamiliar part of town.
Prosecutor's Warning to Sellers
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley issued a public warning following the indictments, telling sellers never to hand over an ATV or dirt bike for a test drive with a stranger. “Most times, you won't get it back,” O'Malley said, according to the prosecutor's office.
The warning echoes concerns Cleveland officials have raised for years. As far back as August 2021, O'Malley flagged 90 vehicle thefts over an 18-month span, with 41 victims lured from outside Cuyahoga County and 33 from outside Ohio entirely, according to WKYC. That earlier wave of scams helped establish Cleveland as a recurring destination for interstate sellers targeted through online marketplaces.
City Crackdowns and Regional Patterns
The years-long fraud scheme has unfolded alongside broader local efforts to rein in illegal off-road vehicle activity. WKYC reported that Cleveland City Council raised fines for illegally riding dirt bikes and ATVs on public streets in June 2022, increasing penalties from the $50 to $100 range up to $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for repeat violations.
The Cleveland Division of Police has also continued pushing safety guidance for anyone buying or selling vehicles online, regularly advising residents to complete transactions at designated Safe Trade Spots, including police station parking lots, and to bring a companion along. That guidance reflects a pattern seen elsewhere in the region: Hoodline reported that a Facebook Marketplace robbery scheme in neighboring Summit County led to the arrest of a 17-year-old in August 2024, after an armed robbery during an ATV sale.
Several questions remain unresolved in the Cuyahoga County case. It is not yet known whether additional co-conspirators using other alias accounts remain unidentified, how many of the stolen ATVs and dirt bikes have been recovered versus resold, or whether prosecutors will pursue civil or criminal forfeiture over assets tied to the alleged enterprise, according to the prosecutor's office.
