Nassau Dealership Thwarts Bogus Bentley Buy; Florida Man Charged

JERICHO, NY — A Florida man has been indicted after authorities said he tried to steal a $135,000 Bentley convertible on Long Island by using a stolen identity. James Gibson, 39, of Orlando, was charged Tuesday with felony counts of attempted grand larceny forgery, identity theft, attempted identity theft, criminal possession of a forged instrument and falsifying business records, the Nassau County District Attorney's office said in a news release.

Bail was set at $300,000 bond or $150,000 cash and Gibson is expected in court Oct. 3. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

Gibson on Aug. 22 tried to buy a 2015 Bentley Continental GT V8 Convertible from a car dealership in Jericho using a stolen identity, prosecutors said. He signed documents using the victim's name and gave the dealer a bogus New Jersey driver's license that had Gibson's photograph and victim's personal information, authorities said.

But the victim called the dealership to stop the purchase upon learning the dealer had run a credit check. The dealer called police without alerting the accused and workers continued to play along with the purchase as if nothing was awry. Police arrested Gibson a short time later and found the phony credit card.