Columbia man accused of deceptive businesses practices pleads guilty
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man accused of deceptive businesses pleaded guilty to several charges on Tuesday.
Mark Doninelli, 47, was charged with five counts of forgery, four counts of second-degree odometer fraud, deceptive business practice, intent to defraud by failing to make a sales tax return, stealing a motor vehicle and stealing involving a controlled substance. He is being held at the Boone County Jail.
Doninelli appeared by video from the jail. A sentencing hearing is set for 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 11. Doninelli will appear in person, according to court documents.
A probable cause statement claims Doninelli bought a 2011 Ford Fusion that hit a deer. The car was put on Facebook Marketplace by his girlfriend and listed as “runs and drives like new” with inaccurate information about the damage, according to court documents.
The vehicle allegedly was missing a hood and front bumper when a prospective buyer gave it a test drive, the statement says. The prospective buyer allegedly gave Doninelli a down payment of $300, but issues would be fixed for the sale. Doninelli eventually sold it for $2,400, but wrote the sale price as $500 and gave the title to the buyer, the statement says.
Doninelli never titled the vehicle, according to the probable cause statement, and didn’t pay taxes to the state or county. The statement says Doninelli did not tell the buyer that he or his girlfriend were not the titled owners.
Previously, he allegedly stole a 2002 Mitsubishi through means of deception, according to a probable cause statement. He allegedly offered to "junk" the vehicle -- valued at $1,700 -- and use the money for credit for a new vehicle purchase for himself, the probable cause statement says.
After Doninelli received the title for the Mitsubishi, he allegedly stopped talking to the woman who owned it. Doninelli then allegedly forged the title by removing the sale information from the previous owner and then sold it to another person, advising he was a car dealer.
Doninelli then allegedly provided a forged lien release for the title.
