Former auto dealers sentenced in racketeering case

STATESBORO - A former south Georgia auto dealer has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison on racketeering charges for submitting false documents to obtain car loans for customers, the U.S. Attorney&#39;s Office said Monday.<br> <br> Dave Parker Anderson Jr., who ran dealerships in Statesboro and Vidalia, was responsible for more than $2.4 million in losses to various financial institutions, federal authorities said. They said he was part of a criminal enterprise that also included cocaine distribution, money laundering and tax offenses.<br> <br> Also sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge John T. Nangle were Anderson&#39;s wife, Leigh Anderson, 31, of Claxton, who received two years for conspiracy to commit fraud, and James Allen Powell, 37, of Vidalia, five years&#39; probation for aiding and abetting conspiracy.<br> <br> Two others were sentenced in March: Lawson Davis III, 27, McRae, five years for drug distribution and money laundering; and Shannon R. Lovette, 26, Statesboro, seven and a half years for distribution of crack cocaine.