JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A Florida man facing trial for fraud has pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of grand theft for stiffing a local car repair shop on a $9,000 repair bill.
Donald Heflin of Jacksonville had claimed he hadn't authorized the repair work but officials of the Midas auto repair chain said he had and then drove the car from the repair shop's lot without permission, the Florida Times-Union reported Tuesday.
Circuit Judge Russell Healey sentenced Heflin to the time he has served in jail, 175 days.
Heflin remains in jail on $1 million bail on other charges of bilking eight people out of nearly $100,000 in a fraudulent investment scheme.
Mitchell, 34, is accused of passing himself of as a high-dollar broker with connections to large financial institutions and convincing the victims to give him money by first impressing them with luxury cars he drove, including the black 2007 Bentley at the center of the repair shop charges.
Mitchell served seven years in federal prison following a 2002 conviction for attempted bank fraud, records show.
