Oklahoma man hacked government site to buy cars at auction for $1

Deals on vehicles and jewelry through a U.S. government auction website were a steal in more ways than one: An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty to hacking a website to buy the items for $1 each, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Coker bought vehicles and jewelry in 2019 through web auctions held by the General Service Administration, officials said. The sales are intended to help get rid of surplus materials or items seized by authorities.

His bids were not unusual amounts, in the thousands of dollars, but when it came time to pay, Coker “breached the pay.gov website and falsified the true auction price to $1,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Coker was indicted on three counts of wire fraud in March 2023 and pleaded guilty to one count Wednesday, according to court records.

He defrauded the government out of more than $150,000 between Jan. 31 and March 21, 2019, the indictment alleges.

Included in the $1-buys were a 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid, for which Coker submitted a bid of $8,327; a Ford F550 pickup, with a bid of $9,000; and a Chevrolet C4500 box truck, bid $22,700; the U.S. attorney’s office said. He tried to sell some of them later, according to the indictment.

A sentencing date has not been set, and Coker is free on pretrial conditions, court records show.

Nineteen items in all were bought through the auctions, according to prosecutors. Coker used eight accounts and pre-paid debit cards with very little balances to make the purchases, the indictment says.

A federal defender listed as representing Coker did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.