42°
Bay Shore resident Jose Amezquita, was charged with two counts of third-degree grand larceny and one count of fourth-degree grand larceny after being implicated in multiple schemes at different dealerships he worked at across Long Island.
Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said that between June and July last year, while working at South Shore Nissan in Amityville, Amezquita offered to sell a customer’s 2019 Nissan Pathfinder if she surrendered it to him at the dealership.
Amezquita’s first victim was instructed she would only be on the hook for the amount owed on the car loan once the sale was finalized.
It is alleged that on July 2 last year, Amezquita sold the Nissan for $15,000 to a second customer at Levitco Car Care in Copiague, though he kept the money for himself rather than submitting the sale as payment on the car loan.
The Pathfinder was later repossessed.
Sini said that on Sept. 20 last year, Amezquita allegedly stole $2,000 from a man by falsely claiming that the money would be earmarked to pay for a driver’s license and help pay an outstanding balance on his car insurance policy.
Additionally, Amezquita was arrested in January for stealing more than $3,000 from a victim while working at South Shore Nissan that was earmarked for a down payment on a car that was never purchased.
"Our investigation revealed that this individual has allegedly been scamming multiple victims by gaining their trust as an employee of reputable car dealerships, then stealing their money," Sini said. "Many of the victims we have identified through this investigation have been members of the Hispanic community, and we believe there may be others."
If convicted, Amezquita, 37, faces a term of between two and seven years in prison. He was released following his arraignment and scheduled to appear back in court on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Amezquita has been instructed to contact the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office’s Financial Investigations and Money Launder Bureau by calling (631) 853-4232 or emailing InfoDA@suffolkcountyny.gov.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Nassau and receive free news updates.
