There’s a specific kind of joy in finding a reliable set of wheels for a fair price on social media. But according to authorities in Missouri, one 24-year-old was allegedly running a Facebook scam that turned every car buyer’s purchase into a wild, disappearing act that would make a magician jealous.
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The Kansas City Police Department said they received eight stolen vehicle reports between May and June 2025, local news channel KCTV 5 reported. That wasn’t necessarily unusual, however, the circumstances surrounding each missing vehicle all followed a similar pattern, and the red flags were too hard to ignore.
Authorities reported that in each case of the stolen cars, customers said they purchased them on Facebook Marketplace for between $2,300 and $4,000. After completing the sales in person, KCPD noted some new car owners received what appeared to be legitimate titles and bills of sale. But hours after each transaction, the cars were stolen.
Mamadou Diallo, 24, was identified by investigators as the alleged alias-using Facebook seller who sold vehicles, just to allegedly steal them back.
To add insult to injury, all of the sales involved the same two vehicles: a gray 2013 Honda Civic and a brown 2013 Buick Verano, KMBC 9 reported. In some cases, per court documents, some purchasers left their paperwork in the vehicle because the sale happened hours prior.
In one incident, one man alleged he saw Diallo stealing the vehicle he had just sold him before listing that same car on Facebook Marketplace later. Using a different account, they reached out to the seller to ask if the vehicle was still available. The seller allegedly replied yes, per KMBC 9.
Prosecutors say the combined total losses of the victims equate to more than $24,000, according to local news channel Fox 4.
Victims picked Diallo, who was previously charged in 2025 with multiple counts of tampering with a motor vehicle, stealing a motor vehicle and aggravated fleeing from police, out of a photo line up as the person who allegedly sold them the cars.
Records state Diallo denied buying or selling vehicles on Facebook Marketplace, but that didn’t stop the slew of felony charges against him. Court records show that Diallo was charged with six counts of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and eight counts of forgery. As of Tuesday morning, Diallo remains in custody on a $30,000 cash-only bond.
WCSC 5 reported Diallo could face up to 98 years in prison if found guilty.
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