Guilty. That’s the verdict in the jury trial of Jeremy Raney, of Consignment RV in Largo.

Raney was convicted of one count of scheme to defraud on Friday. State prosecutors accused him of taking in RVs on consignment, selling them and then keeping the money for himself, leaving buyers and sellers of the RVs in a lurch. The customer who sold RVs got nothing and the buyer did not receive a title for their purchase.  

The state’s case involved seven victims.

A Better Call Behnken investigation first exposed Raney’s business dealings in Oct. 2016. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office started looking into the problem and found at least seven victims. Raney was arrested in Jan. 2017.

The trial began on Monday. On Thursday, Raney spent nearly three hours on the stand. The testimony and questions from the prosecutor were heated.

“I don’t know where the money went,” Raney testified. “It sure didn’t go in my pocket.”

State prosecutors argued that at least seven customers got stuck in deals that cost them as much as $150,000. The business was owned by Raney’s father, but Raney was put in charge when his dad had a heart attack. The state claimed the business went downhill from there, as Raney used Consignment RV as “his own personal piggy bank.”

The state presented bank transactions showing Raney spent lavishly at strip clubs, bars and restaurants. 

“He used these people’s life savings to fund his dream,” Prosecutor Liz Jack said. 

But Raney testified that he didn’t know of any problems until Better Call Behnken showed up at his door demanding answers. I was subpoenaed to testify earlier this week. 

During our Better Call Behnken investigation, I received a text from Raney. It was a photo of a copy of a check to pay off a customer’s loan. He said it was in the mail, but it never arrived.

Thursday, Rainey’s business Florida manager testified that he told her not to send the check and that she ended up shredding it. 

Raney claimed he trusted the employee to run the business and he was the victim of embezzlement.

Raney’s defense attorney, Craig Whisenhunt, said his client is innocent of this charge and he plans to appeal. He said Raney’s actions were not criminal and this should be a “civil matter.”

“At the end of the day, the state attorney can’t account for a half a million dollars or so of missing funds that we believe the evidence shows went to someone else,” he said. “We’re also disappointed in the state attorney’s efforts to remove the public defender from the case, putting Mr. Raney in the position of having to borrow money for an attorney.”

Raney was taken into custody where he will remain in jail until sentencing. This is Raney’s fourth convicted felony, and he faces up to 30 years in prison. 

Guilty. That’s the verdict in the jury trial of Jeremy Raney, of Consignment RV in Largo.

Raney was convicted of one count of scheme to defraud on Friday. State prosecutors accused him of taking in RVs on consignment, selling them and then keeping the money for himself, leaving buyers and sellers of the RVs in a lurch. The customer who sold RVs got nothing and the buyer did not receive a title for their purchase.  

The state’s case involved seven victims.

A Better Call Behnken investigation first exposed Raney’s business dealings in Oct. 2016. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office started looking into the problem and found at least seven victims. Raney was arrested in Jan. 2017.

The trial began on Monday. On Thursday, Raney spent nearly three hours on the stand. The testimony and questions from the prosecutor were heated.

“I don’t know where the money went,” Raney testified. “It sure didn’t go in my pocket.”

State prosecutors argued that at least seven customers got stuck in deals that cost them as much as $150,000. The business was owned by Raney’s father, but Raney was put in charge when his dad had a heart attack. The state claimed the business went downhill from there, as Raney used Consignment RV as “his own personal piggy bank.”

The state presented bank transactions showing Raney spent lavishly at strip clubs, bars and restaurants. 

“He used these people’s life savings to fund his dream,” Prosecutor Liz Jack said. 

But Raney testified that he didn’t know of any problems until Better Call Behnken showed up at his door demanding answers. I was subpoenaed to testify earlier this week. 

During our Better Call Behnken investigation, I received a text from Raney. It was a photo of a copy of a check to pay off a customer’s loan. He said it was in the mail, but it never arrived.

Thursday, Rainey’s business Florida manager testified that he told her not to send the check and that she ended up shredding it. 

Raney claimed he trusted the employee to run the business and he was the victim of embezzlement.

Raney’s defense attorney, Craig Whisenhunt, said his client is innocent of this charge and he plans to appeal. He said Raney’s actions were not criminal and this should be a “civil matter.”

“At the end of the day, the state attorney can’t account for a half a million dollars or so of missing funds that we believe the evidence shows went to someone else,” he said. “We’re also disappointed in the state attorney’s efforts to remove the public defender from the case, putting Mr. Raney in the position of having to borrow money for an attorney.”

Raney was taken into custody where he will remain in jail until sentencing. This is Raney’s fourth convicted felony, and he faces up to 30 years in prison.