Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 65-year-old Richard C. Giza of Lancaster has been sentenced by Erie County Court Judge Kenneth F. Case to an indeterminate sentence of 3 to 6 years. He was sentenced today as a second felony offender.

The defendant admitted that, while operating KPS CARRS in Buffalo and Premier Motocar in Williamsville from May 2010 to May 2016, he accepted payments for vehicles and never transferred the titles or filed the proper paperwork to the purchasers. The defendant further admitted that he falsified Department of Motor Vehicles forms by failing to indicate that he sold vehicles in order to avoid detection by the DMV. Additionally, the defendant admitted to filing false insurance applications that overstated business assets and forged documents such as lien releases from various creditors.

Giza stole a total of $122,190.45 in the form of sales tax collected in connection with the sale of vehicles that he failed to forward to the proper authorities.

Giza pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree, Insurance Fraud in the Third Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. He pleaded guilty to these charges on November 1, 2017, but his sentencing was delayed numerous times at the request of his defense attorney citing the defendant’s medical issues as well as the pause of the courts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of his sentence, Giza was order to pay $122,190.45 in restitution.

“For far too long, Mr. Giza has operated crooked car dealerships to scam customers, insurance companies and the taxpayers of New York State,” said Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn. “He has avoided being sentenced for the crimes he pleaded guilty to nearly three years ago, so I am pleased to see that he will be serving a period of incarceration.”

DA Flynn commends the New York State Department of Financial Services Criminal Investigation Unit, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and New York State Police for their work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gary M. Ertel of the DA’s Special Investigations and Prosecutions Bureau.