"Mobile Mechanic" No Longer Mobile, Now Sits in Jail

(August 23, 2017) - The "Mobile Mechanic" from previous fraud advisories has been identified and arrested for fraud.

In late June, the Cape Coral Police Department advised the public of a "mobile mechanic" scam that was being reported frequently. The suspect would approach a potential victim in a parking lot, saying there is brake fluid on the ground under their vehicle. He would identify himself as a "mechanic" and get under the vehicle, to "assist." While under the vehicle, he would loosen the brake-line and have the victim step on the brakes, causing the pedal to go to the floor. He would then tell them he could fix it, get a $3 bottle of brake fluid, tighten the brake-line cap he had loosened, replace the fluid, and be given "money for his troubles."

Cape Coral Police detectives worked the cases, and probable cause was developed for the arrest of Brian Battaglia (DOB: 6-15-67). Charges on one count of scheming to defraud were dropped on Battaglia at the Lee County Jail, where he was already residing on other charges.