The former owner of a Swansea used car lot who sold cars he could not deliver titles for has been sentenced to four to six years in state prison, the Fall River Reporter reported, citing court records. Edward Cicciu of Attleboro, owner and operator of Bristol County Auto Exchange, Inc., pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court and was sentenced on Friday, November 6, 2026.
The judge gave him credit for 694 days already served. Cicciu also received five years of probation with conditions that include paying $340,380.76 in restitution to victims at $5,673 a month and a ban on working in automotive sales, according to the Fall River Reporter.
The 125 charges
Cicciu was arraigned in Fall River Superior Court in April 2025 on 125 counts, Boston 25 News and the Fall River Reporter reported at the time. According to the Fall River Reporter, they were:
| Charge | Counts |
|---|---|
| Larceny under $1,200 by false pretenses | 43 |
| Failing to deliver title upon a motor vehicle transfer | 38 |
| Forging or misusing an RMV document | 37 |
| Larceny of a motor vehicle | 5 |
| Larceny by check over $1,200 | 2 |
He was held on $100,000 cash bail. Prosecutors identified at least 47 victims between the ages of 18 and 80, Boston 25 and the Fall River Reporter reported, and Boston 25 reported losses of more than $325,000.
How the scheme worked
According to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn’s office, as reported by the Fall River Reporter and Boston 25:
- Cicciu used financing companies to obtain loans to buy vehicles at auctions, then put them on his Swansea lot.
- Customers paid him for the cars. He told them the title and registration would come in a few days.
- He printed false New Jersey temporary plates and registrations and gave them to buyers.
- He did not pay off the loans on the cars he sold, so he never obtained the titles. When customers asked, he eventually stopped responding.
- When customers returned cars over mechanical problems, he gave them refund checks that bounced, the Fall River Reporter reported.
Swansea police first went public in September 2024. At that point, 25 buyers said their titles never came, so the cars were never registered and were repossessed by the auctions, Boston 25 reported. “This has been an extensive investigation,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley said in a press release, according to Boston 25. Cicciu was on probation for prior larceny offenses when the fraud occurred, the DA’s office said.
“It is an aggravating factor that the defendant was on probation for similar conduct when this fraud is alleged to have occurred,” Quinn said at the 2025 arraignment, according to Boston 25.
Why the title is the whole deal
In Massachusetts, a car buyer does not fully own a titled vehicle until the paperwork moves. We read the title statute, G.L. c. 90D, at malegislature.gov.
- The seller’s duty. Under § 15(a), an owner who transfers a titled vehicle “shall, at the time of the delivery of the vehicle, execute an assignment including the actual odometer reading and warranty of title” and cause the certificate to be delivered to the buyer or the registrar.
- When the sale counts. Under § 15(e), “as between the parties, a transfer by an owner is not effective until” those steps are done.
- The lienholder’s position. If a lender holds the title, § 15(c) lets it refuse to hand the certificate over when “the transfer was a breach of his security agreement.” That is why buyers here could pay in full and still lose the car: the auction lenders were never paid, so they kept the titles and took the cars back.
The penalty for not delivering a title is in § 32(b). Anyone who “fails to deliver to the transferee or the registrar a certificate of title or salvage title within ten days after the time required by this chapter” faces a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to six months in a house of correction, or both. The charge name in Cicciu’s case tracks that language. Forging a certificate of title is a separate felony under § 32(a), punishable by up to five years in state prison.
The larceny laws
Most of the counts were larceny, defined in G.L. c. 266, which we also read at malegislature.gov.
- False pretenses. Section 34 says whoever, “with intent to defraud and by a false pretence, induces another to part with property of any kind” is guilty of larceny. Promising a title that would never come is the false pretense prosecutors described.
- The $1,200 line. Under § 30(1), larceny of property worth more than $1,200 carries up to five years in state prison. Property worth $1,200 or less carries up to one year in jail or a fine of up to $1,500. Each of the 43 false pretenses counts was charged under the lower tier.
- Bad checks. Under § 37, writing a check with knowledge of insufficient funds is larceny if property or money is obtained. A bounced check is “prima facie evidence of intent to defraud” unless the writer pays the holder within two days of notice that it was not paid.
- Motor vehicles. Section 28(a) makes stealing a motor vehicle punishable by up to 15 years in state prison.
The four to six year state prison term fell within those ranges. The probation term is how the court enforces restitution: the payments are a condition of probation.
For buyers: warning signs
The facts in this case point to checks any buyer can make before paying:
- Ask to see the certificate of title, or ask who holds it if a lender does.
- Be wary of out-of-state temporary plates on a car sold by a Massachusetts dealer to a Massachusetts buyer.
- Do not accept “the title will come in the mail” as the end of the conversation. Section 15(a) puts the duty on the seller at delivery.
Buyers who already paid for a car with no title can report it to local police, as Swansea police urged buyers to do in 2024, and to the Attorney General’s consumer protection office.
Frequently asked questions
What sentence did Edward Cicciu get?
Four to six years in state prison with credit for 694 days served, then five years of probation including $340,380.76 in restitution and a ban on automotive sales work, according to the Fall River Reporter, citing court records.
Does a Massachusetts car dealer have to give you the title?
Yes. G.L. c. 90D, § 15(a) requires the owner to assign the title at delivery, and § 32(b) makes failing to deliver it within ten days of the required time a crime.
Can a lender repossess a car I paid for?
It can happen when the seller never paid off the lender’s loan on the car. Under c. 90D, § 15(c), a lienholder holding the title does not have to release it when the sale breached its security agreement.
Sources: Fall River Reporter, November 6, 2026, citing court records and the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office; Boston 25 News, September 30, 2024 and April 11, 2025. G.L. c. 90D, §§ 15 and 32, and G.L. c. 266, §§ 28, 30, 34 and 37, read at malegislature.gov. General information, not legal advice.