You’ve most likely by no means heard of Wandale J. Fulton. However by the tip of this story, you may marvel why you haven’t.
Investigators say Fulton and his confederates juggled a number of unlawful schemes for years which will have netted them over $322,000 – though the precise quantity remains to be unsure.
Fulton, 40, has been charged in a 21-count federal indictment that alleges he “led an arson and insurance coverage fraud conspiracy between 2013 and 2019.” On the identical time, the federal government prices, Fulton, his co-defendant Jeremy D. Woods, 41, and 5 unindicted co-conspirators additionally stole individuals’s identification and used these IDs in a fancy enterprise to purchase cars from used automotive auctions in Kansas Metropolis.
The truth that Fulton was capable of fly beneath the radar for therefore lengthy is the results of an advanced and various set of schemes that saved him on the fringes of regulation enforcement’s sight.
“If all I had was illegitimate sources of cash and an infinite period of time on my fingers to take a seat round and concoct fraudulent schemes possibly I may give you this,” Missouri State Freeway Patrol investigator Cpl. Nate Bradley advised KCUR as he mirrored on the twists and turns of the case.
The indictment claims Fulton and the others made false “representations and guarantees in insurance coverage functions and claims” after which laundered the cash obtained from the insurance coverage corporations.
Investigators would spend years unraveling the alleged crimes. In the long run, it might take police and federal brokers in two states to crack the case. However solely after a few fortunate breaks.
The Grandview Killing
Fulton’s historical past with regulation enforcement started in 1998, when he was dwelling close to 58th and Wabash in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri. Based on Jackson County courtroom paperwork, Fulton and three others drove to Grandview on January 10 of that 12 months and fired an assault rifle into the rear glass door of a home, killing one man and wounding one other.
Fulton and the others had been arrested by Grandview police after a brief chase the place an officer “noticed a celebration within the rear of the truck throw out what was later recovered and located to be an assault rifle of the identical caliber used within the shootings,” in accordance with the possible trigger assertion on the time.
Fulton would finally plead responsible to voluntary manslaughter and spend simply 120 days in two Missouri prisons.
That conviction would come again to hang-out him 21 years later.
Arson and insurance coverage fraud
Fulton was launched from jail in October 1999, in accordance with the Missouri Division of Corrections. He went on to get married, have youngsters and begin varied companies, together with shopping for rental properties and opening the Cigar Lounge close to fifty fifth and Troost, courtroom paperwork present.
In 2007, Fulton and his spouse purchased a mansion at 9500 Keystone Drive in Lee’s Summit for $617,000. The federal government alleges that house was concerned in one among Fulton’s first insurance coverage fraud crimes.
On Oct. 26, 2015, Jackson County sheriff deputies had been referred to as to the home.
Within the report, the primary deputy on scene stated that he was met by Fulton who stated whereas he was out of city on enterprise somebody kicked in his again door and stole greater than $85,000 in property.
“Upon my entry into the residence, I noticed the residence in disarray,” the deputy wrote in his report. Fulton advised investigators among the many property stolen had been two air-con models, three furnaces, a $6,500 garden mower and ten leather-based jackets.
However despite the fact that he pegged the loss to investigators at $85,000, he made a declare to American Household Insurance coverage “for a complete loss between $250,000 and $300,000,” in accordance with the federal indictment handed down in August 2020.
“Fulton and his spouse made quite a few false statements on the insurance coverage software,” the federal government alleges. After questioning by insurance coverage firm investigators Fulton dropped his declare and, the sheriff’s workplace stated, the housebreaking case stays open right this moment.
Fulton would allegedly transfer on to different schemes with different homes, together with six houses bought from the Kansas Metropolis Land Financial institution. Three different properties — at 5600 Jaudon, 1157 East 77th Terrace and 4009 Euclid in Kansas Metropolis — had been allegedly concerned in arson.
Fulton purchased the property at 5600 Jaudon for $500 in June 2016 and promised to revive and lease it. He insured the property with Nationwide Insurance coverage Firm for $177,677, which might cowl each the lack of the property and potential income from renters.
A 12 months later, “the home burned in a suspicious hearth and was a complete loss,” the indictment prices. Immediately, 5600 Jaudon is an empty lot.
Fulton and his co-conspirators claimed to have spent hundreds of {dollars} renovating the home for lease and submitted false invoices to Nationwide. Investigators would later hyperlink the names on these invoices to associates of Fulton. Cpl. Bradley with the Missouri State Freeway Patrol was the primary to suspect one thing prison was underway.
“These individuals aren’t contractors; they do not swing hammers for a dwelling. You shake their fingers, they don’t seem to be properly calloused,” Bradley stated.
A kind of associates, Jeremy Woods, who purchased the home the on Euclid that burned down, would finally contribute to Fulton’s downfall.
Id theft and auto title rip-off
Whereas Fulton, Woods and the unnamed co-conspirators had been shopping for homes and allegedly setting them on hearth, they had been additionally reportedly working a fraud that focused auto auctions and different insurance coverage corporations.
“At all times higher to diversify your portfolio,” Bradley advised KCUR. “If one factor will get shut down, you have all the time bought this. That will get shut down. You’ve got all the time bought that.”
Fulton allegedly created a faux automotive dealership in 2017 beneath the identify C.E. Gross sales & Firm. He allegedly would steal anyone’s identification and use their good credit score to purchase automobiles at auto auctions in Kansas Metropolis.
Auto auctions for dealership are an advanced world unto themselves. Auctions have their very own in-house credit score operations and with a dealership license and an excellent credit score rating they are going to lend cash to purchase their automobiles.
Fulton, Bradley stated, would purchase a automotive on credit score and promote it to one among his colleagues, who would finally report the automotive stolen for the insurance coverage cash – making the auto public sale, the individual whose id was stolen and the insurance coverage firm all victims.
“See how this factor simply will get so convoluted so rapidly?” Bradley stated.
Regulation enforcement first linked Fulton to the scheme when an insurance coverage firm investigator was wanting into the theft of a Mercedes that was recovered by the Kansas Metropolis Police Division. The proprietor of the automotive talked about Fulton throughout questioning by the investigator. Fulton’s identify surfaced once more when a instructor within the Park Hill college district used a few of his retirement funds to put money into Fulton’s automotive dealership. The instructor’s id was then stolen and used to purchase automobiles at public sale.
A Missouri Division of Income agent was assigned to the case. “So we met at a McDonald’s within the Northland and sat down and listened to his story. And I feel all of us began crying. It was simply horrible,” in accordance with Bradley.
The entire image didn’t come into focus till fall of 2018 when Bradley, the Missouri Freeway Patrol investigator, bought a name from an Overland Park police detective. Police seized a automotive they imagine was concerned in a lot of auto burglaries the place the thieves had been in search of weapons. Whereas they didn’t discover any firearms, they discovered a pink folder with invoices from contractors and automotive insurance coverage paperwork and requested Bradley, an skilled in automotive thefts and insurance coverage scams, whether or not he acknowledged any of the names on the paperwork.
Bradley stated his ears perked up when he heard Fulton and the names of a number of different individuals linked to him. At this level in 2017, Bradley stated, he wasn’t conscious of the alleged arson-for-profit scheme however he knew these contractor invoices had been suspicious, so he introduced in federal investigators.
Federal investigators shut in on Fulton and his crew
After wanting into the fires on Jaudon, Euclid and East 77th Terrace, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Agent Ryan Zornes bought a search warrant for Fulton’s new house in Lee’s Summit. In the course of the search, he discovered a semi-automatic handgun, in accordance with a federal prison criticism filed in March 2019.
Fulton, convicted of manslaughter in 1998, was arrested for being a felon in possession of a handgun.
Fulton was indicted in August 2020 together with Jeremy Woods, the alleged proprietor of the Euclid property that burned to the bottom. A few 12 months later, Woods flipped and agreed to cooperate with the federal government.
“The defendant participated in an arson and insurance coverage fraud conspiracy, working from 2013 by means of 2019 with Wandale Fulton and others,” in accordance with his plea settlement. He pleaded responsible to 2 counts of the 21-count indictment and now faces as much as 25 years in jail and a $250,000 positive when sentenced.
Fulton is now set for trial on February 14, 2022.
His lawyer has not returned a name searching for remark.
The U.S. Lawyer’s workplace and the ATF declined to remark.
