In a statement, the Galveston County District Attorney's Office said that Richard Thomas Finley was sentenced to 60 years in prison for a theft and fraud scheme that he ran out of his custom car restoration shop, "Classic American Street Rods" in the San Leon-Bacliff area.
ORIGINAL STORY: 24 classic vehicles and over $2 million worth of car parts reportedly found stolen in Galveston Co.
The sentence comes after a jury trial found Finley guilty of felony theft in December 2025.
According to authorities, Finley advertised to his victims that he would perform "engine swaps" on their classic cars, upgrading the original engines with more modern engines that are less expensive to maintain and repair.
Authorities said after receiving complaints, Galveston County Sheriff's Office investigators discovered that Finley stole more than $498,000 from customers from 2018 to 2023. Officials added that the investigation revealed 72 victims, with law enforcement recovering over 20 classic cars.
Officials said that during the December trial, prosecutors called 28 of Finley's victims to testify about how he lied to them, stole their money, and ultimately defrauded them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to authorities, several victims described how Finley demanded a large amount of money from them upfront to begin work on their classic car, then months or even years would go by with no updates on when the engine swap would be done. When confronted by his victims, Finley would lie about the status of their engine swap, officials added.
Officials also said that Finely was stealing car parts from the classic cars and selling the parts to unsuspecting buyers.
After a week-long trial, the jury found Finley guilty on Dec. 19, according to the Galveston County District Attorney's Office.
Officials said that after Finley elected to be sentenced by the court, Judge Jeth Jones of the 122nd District Court sentenced him to 60 years in prison on Jan. 6.