‘Omi in a Hellcat’ owes millions in restitution, so his impressive car collection is being auctioned off on behalf of the government
14 hours ago
If you’ve ever wondered how some YouTubers can amass an impressive collection of cars, sometimes they’re rich, other times they earn it, but occasionally, the answer is simple and illegal.
The government contends that’s the case with Bill Omar Carrasquillo, who was known as Omi in a Hellcat on YouTube. His last video was uploaded two years ago, but his channel showed him taking delivery of a Corvette C8, a Lamborghini Huracan Evo, and a Lamborghini Urus – among others.
That’s an impressive collection, but it sounds like the cars weren’t exactly obtained through hard, honest labor. Quite the opposite as the government sentenced Carrasquillo to 66 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release for a “wide-ranging copyright infringement scheme that involved piracy of cable TV.”
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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Carrasquillo and others “operated a large-scale internet protocol television piracy scheme in which they fraudulently obtained cable television accounts and then resold copyrighted content to thousands of their own subscribers, who could then stream or playback content.” This reportedly earned the group more than $30 (£24.8 / €28.6) million and the government noted Carrasquillo used a “large portion of his profits” to purchase homes and “dozens of vehicles, including high-end sports cars.”
Carrasquillo was convicted of a long list of offenses including conspiracy, access device fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He was also convicted of making false statements to a bank, making false statements to law enforcement officers, tax evasion, reproduction of a protected work, and violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act – among others.
That’s quite a list and Carrasquillo was ordered to pay $10.7 (£8.8 / €10.2) million in restitution to cable companies, more than $5 (£4.1 / €4.7) million in restitution to the IRS, and to forfeit over $30 (£24.8 / €28.6) million in illegal proceeds from the scheme.
That brings us to news that Carrasquillo’s car collection is now being auctioned off by Apple Auctioneering. The auction was noticed by Road & Track, which notes 32 cars are up for grabs as well as a handful of ATVs, motorcycles, and side-by-sides.
Included in the auction are two Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawks, Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats, and a Durango SRT. They’re joined by four Lamborghinis, two Mustangs, an Audi R8, and an Acura NSX. Other highlights include a Bentley Continental GT, a BMW M8, a Toyota Supra, and a Honda Civic Type R.
That’s quite a collection and the 2019 Lamborghini Aventador LP740-4 S, which features a Power Rangers wrap, is already up to $372,000 (£307,733 / €354,951) as of this writing.
