A Michigan man is facing time in prison for running a bait and switch scheme that ripped off over 80 truckers and shut down several businesses.

Police reported that 47-year-old Carl Steven Spencer had been running a scam out of Fenton, Michigan for five years.

During that time, police received 81 complaints of fraud. According to reports, truckers from the U.S. and Canada had been sending their engines to Spencer’s company’s, National Diesel Engine, for re-manufacturing along with a down payment.

Most of the truckers never received their engine or saw their money again. Other victims had their original engines returned, replaced with used parts and a new coat of paint.

Several people took to Rip-Off Report to share their experiences. According to one victim,

“Steve Spencer owner of national diesel engine is a con artist and will steal your money. He has done this to many and I mean many people. National Diesel Engine is a scam, he’s being sued by everyone so now he’s changed his name to Superior Reman as well as Midwest engine so he can keep the scam going.  If you are lucky enough to even get a engine back it will be used one that is painted to look new.”

Spencer claimed that he fell into crime after landing on hard economic times, and argued that he was using the money from new customers to pay for previous repair orders. However, prosecutors found that Spencer had actually been spending the money on luxury items to support a lifestyle outside of his means.

At least 81 truck owners were affected. Some owner-operators say they scam put them out of business.

On October 7th, Spencer entered a guilty plea deal to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to nine months in federal prison in West Virginia’s Morgantown Federal Penitentiary. Spencer must also pay $189,000 in restitution and will be on probation for two years after his release from prison.