Con man persuaded women to buy him luxury cars, claimed he was U.S. marshal: police

Authorities have arrested and charged a 28-year-old man accused of conning women he met online across the U.S. into buying him luxury vehicles and posing as a U.S. marshal.

Timothy Rossell was arrested last Thursday after he was confronted by one of the women – to whom he was engaged – and fled in his Lamborghini. The car got a flat tire in Effingham, Ill., and he was caught trying to buy a bus ticket, according to Det. Sgt. John Biser of the Union Police Department in Missouri.

The 2014 Lamborghini Gallardo was one of the luxury vehicles that one of his alleged victims in Ft. Myers, Fla., purchased for him.

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Biser, who is co-ordinating the investigation across several jurisdictions, told CBS-affiliate KMOV that the 27-year-old woman in Florida also purchased a Corvette Z06 for Rossell. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that she also loaned him US $27,000 and believed he was Deputy U.S. Marshal Austyn Labella.

His fiancée, a 32-year-old woman in Union, Mo., was the one who tipped police off to the sprawling scheme. She was living with him for nine months believing he was Deputy U.S. Marshal Austyn Gardner.

Police say Rossell persuaded her to purchase a Cadillac Escalade, a Ford Mustang Shelby GT and a Can-Am Spyder three-wheeled motorbike.

PHOTO GALLERY: Some of the luxury vehicles that women involved with Rossell purchased for him.

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Biser said Rossell explained the Lamborghini to his fiancée by claiming he had a wealthy aunt and uncle who wanted to send him a wedding gift. He justified the extra cash by claiming they wanted to purchase some of his property in Pennsylvania.

Biser said he even brought his fiancée to Florida, claiming he had a training session there, but instead went out to meet his Ft. Myers girlfriend.

Kylee Wood, a 19-year-old student from Pittsburgh, Pa., said it was the police warrants issued for Rossell’s Craigslist scams from three years ago that tipped her family off that she wasn’t dating who she thought she was. Rossell also has served time for his prior convictions for fraud and deceit.

NBC-affiliate WPXI reported in 2013 that police in Pittsburgh were searching for Rossell for allegedly scamming people out of thousands of dollars after pretending to buy their used cars over Craigslist.

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Wood said she dated Rossell – whom she knew as Remington Woods – for one month last November. She said he told her he could help her buy a new truck at a good price.

She sold her old truck and gave him the US$14,000 cash she got for it, plus US$6,000 more for the new vehicle.

When she later confronted him about his arrest warrants, she said Rossell took off with the money.

Biser said there is another victim in Pennsylvania who met Rossell on the same online dating site who just came forward to the police. The 27-year-old said he bilked her out of $7,000.

And in Texas, another victim – who is not romantically linked to the man – came forward to police to say she was a victim to Rossell’s alleged car sales scam. She claimed he promised her $9,500 for a car she sold him.

“He didn’t give her a cent,” said Biser.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He didn't give her a cent," said Biser.

Biser said Rossell fooled his alleged victims into believing he was a federal officer with a commemorative badge he had purchased on eBay. He is also said to have forged identity cards and tactical gear that appeared to have been police-issued; all were purchased online, said Biser.

When Rossell was on the lam, Biser said his only means of payment was a credit card, which his fiancée in Missouri cancelled as soon as he fled. Using his U.S. Marshal “badge,” he persuaded his tow truck driver to pay for his motel room for a night.

Rossell finally contacted his girlfriend in Florida for money, but police were able to intercept her before she sent her credit card information to him.

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The case continues to evolve as new victims come forward.

“When the whole story comes out, some of the stuff you will read will make your jaw drop. You think ‘There’s no way he convinced them of this or that specific thing,'” said Biser. “There were definite warning signs that these ladies saw but at the same time, when you’re being courted and you feel like you love somebody, it’s easy to overlook that lie.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "When the whole story comes out, some of the stuff you will read will make your jaw drop. You think 'There's no way he convinced them of this or that specific thing,'" said Biser. "There were definite warning signs that these ladies saw but at the same time, when you're being courted and you feel like you love somebody, it's easy to overlook that lie."

Currently Rossell is in federal custody in St. Charles, Mo., and has been charged with four counts of identity theft and one count of impersonating a police officer.