Fashion Tycoon Claims He Was Scammed Out of $5 Million for a Fake AMG One Reservation

      Mercedes-AMG

      Mercedes originally intended to produce only 275 AMG One hypercars, and Michael Mente, a fashion CEO based in Los Angeles, was eager to acquire one. His desire was so strong that he was prepared to pay $5.4 million for a build slot from a French exotic car dealer he had never met or even heard of. Unfortunately for Mente, this dealer was reportedly a con artist in Texas who took his money and disappeared.

      As reported by the Denver Post, Mente claimed he was referred to a “Jean-Pierre M.R. Clement” by Colorado attorney Scott Oliver in 2021. It remains unclear how Mente came to know Oliver or why he trusted the recommendation. Nevertheless, Mente sent money for what he believed to be the build slot from Clement, who assured him that Mercedes would contact him regarding the start of the hypercar production. The promised date never arrived because Clement turned out to be nonexistent, and no build slot was ever secured.

      In 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reached out to Mente to inform him that the individual claiming to be Clement was, in fact, a habitual fraudster named Traveon Rogers from Austin, Texas. Mente has since filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Colorado against both Rogers and Oliver to recover his $5.4 million.

      Mercedes-AMG

      Describing Rogers merely as a con man could be considered an understatement. His LinkedIn profile claims he sold his interests in two businesses for $1 billion each, was an early investor in Snapchat, a backer of BitPay, and even an NFL player. While we cannot easily verify his investment claims, we can investigate his supposed NFL career. Notably, despite his résumé featuring a picture of a Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, the player in that image is Taveon Rogers, not Traveon. Bengals WR Taveon Rogers attended New Mexico State University, whereas Traveon’s LinkedIn indicates he attended Louisiana Tech, Rice, and Texas Christian Universities. If one is going to impersonate someone else, accuracy would be essential.

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      It is uncertain how Mente will recover his funds, as Rogers is currently facing lawsuits for various other fraudulent schemes, including selling a different fake AMG One build slot and impersonating Aston Martin staff. He is also facing a seven-year prison sentence for prior offenses. This context makes a video of him boasting about his ability to sell anything for millions and convincing people to buy it quite ironic now.

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