--- title: "Fashion Mogul Says He Was Conned Out of $5M for Fake AMG One Reservation" date: "2025-03-07" modified: "2025-03-07" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/fashion-mogul-says-he-was-conned-out-of-5m-for-fake-amg-one-reservation" categories: - "Mercedes-Benz News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Mercedes-AMG" - "one" - "Supercar" --- # Fashion Mogul Says He Was Conned Out of $5M for Fake AMG One Reservation ![Mercedes-AMG One on Nurburgring.]() *\Mercedes-AMG\* Mercedes only planned on building 275 [AMG One]() hypercars, and Los Angeles-based fashion CEO Michael Mente wanted one. He wanted one so badly that he was willing to pay $5.4 million for a build slot to a French exotic car dealer he'd never met or even heard of before. Unfortunately for Mente, that dealer was allegedly a con man in Texas who pocketed the entrepreneur's cash and ran. According to the [*Denver Post*](), Mente said he was recommended to a "Jean-Pierre M.R. Clement" by Colorado-based attorney Scott Oliver in 2021. How Mente came to know Oliver, or why he'd take that recommendation, is unclear. But in doing so, Mente transferred money for what he thought was that built slot from Clement, and was told that Mercedes would contact him with a date to begin building his hypercar. Of course, the date never came because Clement didn't exist, and no build slot was ever secured. The United States Department of Homeland Security contacted Mente in 2022 to inform him that the man purporting to be Clement was actually a serial con artist named Traveon Rogers from Austin, Texas. Mente has since filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Colorado against both Rogers and Oliver to return his $5.4 million. ![]() **Mercedes-AMG** Calling Rogers a con man might be an understatement. According to his [LinkedIn](), Rogers sold his stake in two businesses for $1 billion each, he was an early investor in Snapchat, an investor in BitPay, and even an NFL player. While we can't easily confirm his investments, we can check his so-called NFL tenure. Turns out that despite the photo of a Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver in his resume, the player in that photo is [*Taveon* Rogers](), not *Traveon*. Bengals WR Taveon Rogers went to New Mexico State University, but Traveon's LinkedIn says he went to Louisiana Tech, Rice, and Texas Christian Universities. If you're gonna pretend to be someone else, at least do it accurately. It's unclear how Mente is going to get his money back, as Rogers is currently being sued for several other fraud schemes, including selling a different fake AMG One build slot and impersonating Aston Martin personnel. He's also currently facing a seven-year sentence for those earlier offenses. It [makes this video]() of him bragging about being able to sell anything for millions of dollars and getting people to buy it seem a bit ironic now. *Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()