for immediate release contact - Queens County District Attorney
for immediate release contact - Queens County District Attorney
for immediate release contact - Queens County District Attorney
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DISTRICT ATTORNEY<br />
QUEENS COUNTY<br />
125-01 QUEENS BOULEVARD<br />
KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415-1568<br />
718-286-6000<br />
Release # 200-2011<br />
www.queensda.org<br />
RICHARD A. BROWN<br />
DISTRICT ATTORNEY<br />
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br />
CONTACT: QDA PRESS OFFICE<br />
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2011 718-286-6315<br />
NYPD/DCPI<br />
646-610-6700<br />
EIGHTEEN INDIVIDUALS AND 3 CORPORATIONS<br />
CHARGED IN $ 1.9 MILLION AUTO LOAN FRAUD SCHEME<br />
18 Financial Institutions Allegedly Victimized<br />
<strong>Queens</strong> <strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong> Richard A. Brown, joined by New York City Police Commissioner<br />
Raymond W. Kelly, today announced that eighteen individuals and three corporations have been<br />
indicted <strong>for</strong> their alleged roles in two massive automobile loan fraud schemes that resulted in nearly<br />
two million dollars in losses to 18 financial institutions on 47 loans. Two of the individuals are<br />
presently being sought.<br />
According to the <strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong>, sixteen of the individual defendants were arraigned earlier<br />
this week in <strong>Queens</strong> <strong>County</strong> Supreme Court on two multi-count indictments, charging 165 pattern<br />
acts. The two remaining individual defendants are presently being sought, and the corporate<br />
defendants will be arraigned on December 14, 2011, the next court date <strong>for</strong> all of the defendants.<br />
The defendants are variously charged with enterprise corruption under New York State’s<br />
Organized Crime Control Act, second- and third-degree grand larceny, second- and third-degree<br />
criminal possession of stolen property, first-degree falsifying business records, second-degree<br />
criminal possession of a <strong>for</strong>ged instrument and fifth-degree conspiracy. The next court date <strong>for</strong> all<br />
of the defendants is December 14, 2011. If convicted, the individual defendants face up to 25 years<br />
in prison and the corporate defendants each face fines of up to $10,000 or twice the amount of the<br />
illicit gain, whichever is greater. (See Addendum <strong>for</strong> additional details on the defendants).<br />
Twelve of the defendants are charged with conspiring with one another to purchase on credit<br />
various high-end vehicles, such as Maseratis, BMWs, Porsches, Lexus, Cadillac Escalades and<br />
Mercedes-Benzes between July 1, 2008, and March 30, 2010. In carrying out their scheme, the<br />
defendants are alleged to have used “straw borrowers” with good credit scores to take out $1.9<br />
million in loans in exchange <strong>for</strong> kickbacks and other incentives. Once the vehicles were turned over<br />
to various members of the criminal enterprise, the vehicles were then allegedly either sold or rented<br />
out on the black market to individuals engaged in criminal activity or the vehicles’ titles were<br />
“washed” out of state and sold to dealers or at auction.<br />
In a variation on the first scheme, nine other defendants are charged with conspiring with one<br />
another to commit loan fraud by recruiting straw borrowers to take out bank loans – allegedly to<br />
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purchase used vehicles or <strong>for</strong> some other purpose, such as per<strong>for</strong>ming home improvements. It is<br />
alleged that, in actuality, no vehicles were purchased and no home repairs were made. As a result,<br />
the defendants are accused of obtaining more than $180,000 in fraudulent loans funds.<br />
In both schemes, it is alleged that the defendants would make a few monthly payments on<br />
the loans be<strong>for</strong>e defaulting. In automobile funding, the car dealer and the funding institution often<br />
have a contractual arrangement which provides that should the loan default within the initial three<br />
payments, the dealer was responsible <strong>for</strong> repaying the loan to the bank. Since the continuity of the<br />
defendants’ alleged scheme depended upon the willingness of the car dealerships to do business with<br />
them, the defendants typically ensured that several payments were made on the vehicle loans be<strong>for</strong>e<br />
defaulting, thus leaving the straw borrowers and lending institutions liable <strong>for</strong> the losses.<br />
<strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong> Brown said, “The charges are the result of a three-year undercover<br />
investigation by the New York City Police Department’s Auto Crime Division and my Auto Crime<br />
and Insurance Fraud Unit. This was a highly complex and sophisticated financial fraud scheme in<br />
which individuals with good credit agreed to ‘lend’ their identity and credit scores to the defendants<br />
in return <strong>for</strong> monetary kickbacks, as well as a general assurance that engaging in the activity would<br />
boost their credit score. Un<strong>for</strong>tunately, these individuals wound up with ruined credit, multiple<br />
banks suing them <strong>for</strong> money, and suspended driver’s licenses <strong>for</strong> unpaid parking tickets on vehicles<br />
they allegedly ‘own.’”<br />
Commissioner Kelly said, “Straw purchasers were assured that the suspects would pay off<br />
the car loans in full and they would be left with even better credit histories in addition to a $2,000<br />
fee. If you think that was too good to be true, you’re right. In fact, the suspects would stop making<br />
payments after three installments and then rent or sell these high-end vehicles, often to other<br />
criminals, in various neighborhoods in <strong>Queens</strong> and Brooklyn, leaving the straw purchasers holding<br />
the bag.”<br />
According to the charges in one of the indictments, twelve of the defendants and others were<br />
members and associates of an automobile loan fraud ring: an organized criminal enterprise based in<br />
<strong>Queens</strong> <strong>County</strong> that illicitly operated in the New York City-metropolitan area. It is alleged that<br />
Andre Dickenson was the ring’s leader and that he obtained vehicles purchased on credit through<br />
straw buyers – who would qualify <strong>for</strong> loans on high-end vehicles and were recruited by defendants<br />
Duane Box, Danien Brown and Alain Galette either directly or were introduced to them by friends<br />
and relatives who were themselves straw purchasers. The recruiters allegedly would tell the straw<br />
buyers that if they were successful in financing a vehicle, they would receive a cash kickback, that<br />
the loan payments would be made in full (and if not, then the recruiter would use a spare key or<br />
Lojack to “repossess” the vehicle), and that the scheme would improve their credit score <strong>for</strong> the<br />
future.<br />
It is alleged that the straw buyers typically had their initial meetings with the recruiters at<br />
ABC Auto Sales (a/k/a United Brothers Auto Sales), a used-car dealership located at 98-04<br />
Springfield Boulevard in <strong>Queens</strong>. The buyers are alleged to have either signed <strong>for</strong> their cars at ABC<br />
or were taken to other dealerships in New York City, Long Island or New Jersey. In most cases, it<br />
is alleged, the vehicle was physically sold by one dealership but financed by another, which is known<br />
as “fraud financing” in the used-vehicle industry.<br />
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According to the charges, because the buyers needed to buy the vehicles on credit, which<br />
could not be obtained from ABC, an “established” dealership, such as Hillside Honda, was needed<br />
to <strong>for</strong>mally apply <strong>for</strong> the financing on behalf of the buyer. In order to get the financing, it is alleged<br />
that the established dealership could not reveal to the financing institution that another, less<br />
established dealership, such as ABC, was the one actually selling the vehicle. There<strong>for</strong>e, on the day<br />
of purchase, ABC would allegedly wholesale the vehicle over to the established dealership, which<br />
would then create the paperwork <strong>for</strong> the bank to make it appear as if the vehicle was sold off of their<br />
own lot.<br />
Crucial to financing the vehicle purchase was a credit application signed by the straw buyer.<br />
In almost every case, it is alleged that the applications falsely inflated the vehicle buyer’s salary, job<br />
title, and length of employment. It is alleged that defendants Christopher Lewis, Christopher Vincent<br />
and Ernest Butler falsified multiple loan applications in order to obtain vehicles <strong>for</strong> the criminal<br />
enterprise. If the lender required proof of income, on many occasions, false employee pay stubs were<br />
allegedly created and submitted. It is further alleged that if a straw buyer needed to go to the<br />
dealership, they were accompanied by their recruiter who conducted all discussions with the sales<br />
and finance people. It is alleged that most of the straw buyers never saw the vehicles that they had<br />
purchased.<br />
It is additionally alleged that some of the recruiters also were capable of arranging car sales<br />
themselves. For instance, is charged that defendant Duane Box, who was known to work at ABC<br />
Auto Sales, arranged deals with defendants Adrian Sylvester, of Hillside Honda, and Marvin<br />
Jackson, a <strong>Queens</strong> “bird dog” car dealer. A “bird dog” is considered a person who is not officially<br />
employed by a car dealership but who makes his living by bringing car deals to dealerships and<br />
would receive a fee <strong>for</strong> each completed transaction. In this instance, Jackson allegedly would take<br />
straw deals arranged by recruiters and attempt to obtain the vehicles through various area<br />
dealerships. Once the vehicles were obtained, Jackson would allegedly broker the vehicles to the<br />
defendant Dickenson or to associates, such as the defendants Maurice Hayes and Carl Tappin.<br />
It is further alleged that the members of the enterprise would use the vehicles <strong>for</strong> their own<br />
personal use or would sell or rent the vehicles to other individuals who were themselves engaged in<br />
criminal activity and wanted a vehicle that could not be traced back to them. In other instances,<br />
Dickenson allegedly had other people, such as defendant Natasha Green, “wash” or retitle the<br />
vehicles in their names and re-sell the vehicles in Florida through a dealer or at auction. It is alleged,<br />
<strong>for</strong> instance, that Green would retitle the vehicles in her own name prior to the sales, and then<br />
launder the proceeds through her bank accounts. Green allegedly would then make withdrawals of<br />
cash and surreptitiously transfer the cash to Dickenson.<br />
During the investigation of the alleged Dickenson Enterprise, authorities allegedly discovered<br />
a second criminal enterprise run by Alexander Ndaula, a South African national, who was conspiring<br />
with Dickenson and other members of his enterprise to “bust out” automobile loans. It is alleged<br />
that Ndaula and associates – defendants Luis Santiago and Quate Alexander – recruited straw<br />
borrowers – such as defendants Alain Saint Phard and Yusufbek Makhmadaliev – to take out bank<br />
loans allegedly to purchase used cars. In reality, no vehicles were being purchased.<br />
In carrying out the scheme, it is alleged that false credit statements were supplied by Ndaula<br />
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and Santiago to the bank to induce the loans, and that Ndaula would usually pose as the borrower<br />
on the telephone to the lending institutions. When it was time to pick up the loan check, the straw<br />
borrower allegedly would be sent to the bank branch to obtain the funds. The funds were then<br />
allegedly laundered through the borrower’s bank account. Withdrawals of large sums of cash were<br />
then allegedly made, which were then handed over to Ndaula. It is alleged that the borrower<br />
typically received a portion of the loan proceeds <strong>for</strong> his or her participation in the scheme.<br />
It is further charged that aiding in the bogus loan applications was the defendant Silver Arrow<br />
Auto Sales, Inc., A New Jersey car dealership, which would falsify the paperwork that was given to<br />
the banks in order to make it appear as if an individual was buying a car from the dealership. The<br />
loan checks allegedly would then be issued to Silver Arrow, which would launder the loan proceeds<br />
through its business account and then wire structured amounts to the business accounts of Ndaula’s<br />
wife, Ronda Richardson, an employee of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Inspector<br />
General. In multiple instances, it is alleged that Richardson took out bank loans in her name using<br />
fraudulent documents. In other instances, Richardson allegedly laundered illegally obtained loan<br />
proceeds through the corporate bank accounts of Quiet Money Realty Services LLC (a/k/a EZ<br />
Approval Auto Sales and Leasing LLC) and Rearguard Enterprises, businesses she incorporated to<br />
aid her husband, Ndaula, in his criminal enterprise.<br />
The investigation was conducted by Detectives Richard Straus and Robert Loughman (now<br />
retired), of the New York City Police Department’s Auto Crime Division, under the supervision of<br />
Sergeant Joseph Ricotta, Lieutenant Emanuel Dermitzakis, Captain Joseph Veneziano and Deputy<br />
Inspector Joseph Kenny, the Commanding Officer of the Auto Crime Division, and the overall<br />
supervision of Deputy Chief Kevin Ward and, Chief Anthony Izzo, of the NYPD’s Organized Crime<br />
Control Bureau.<br />
Assistance in the investigation was also provided by Special Agent Thomas Kim, of the<br />
United States Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General; Ed Carlson, of the<br />
National Insurance Crime Bureau; Senior Investigator Gerard Harrison, of the New York State<br />
Department of Motor Vehicles; and by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor<br />
Vehicles.<br />
Assistant <strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong> Mary M. Lowenburg, Chief of the <strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong>’s Auto Crime<br />
and Insurance Fraud Unit, with the assistance of Assistant <strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong> Frances Impellizzeri,<br />
are prosecuting the cases, under the supervision of Assistant <strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong>s Gerard A. Brave,<br />
Chief of the Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau, and Mark L. Katz, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the<br />
overall supervision of Executive Assistant <strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong> <strong>for</strong> Investigations Peter A. Crusco and<br />
Deputy Executive Assistant <strong>District</strong> <strong>Attorney</strong> <strong>for</strong> Investigation Linda M. Cantoni.<br />
It should be noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that defendants are<br />
presumed innocent until proven guilty.<br />
#<br />
E-version of press <strong>release</strong> posted at www.queensda.org<br />
SEE ADDENDUM ON FOLLOWING PAGE FOR DETAILS ON DEFENDANTS<br />
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ADDENDUM<br />
DICKENSON ENTERPRISE (12 defendants)<br />
Duane Box, 26, of 101-33 222 nd Street in <strong>Queens</strong>, was <strong>release</strong>d on his own recognizance.<br />
Danien Brown, 35, of 242-03 149 th Avenue in <strong>Queens</strong>, is presently being sought.<br />
Ernest Butler, 40, of 133-02 133 rd Avenue in <strong>Queens</strong>, was <strong>release</strong>d on his own recognizance.<br />
Andre Dickenson, 31, of 1253 East 103 rd Street in Brooklyn was ordered held on $100,000 bond/cash with<br />
a bail sufficiency hearing.<br />
Alain Galette, 26, of 439 East 8 th Street in Brooklyn, was ordered held on $10,000 bond/$5,000 cash.<br />
Natasha Green, 28, of 255 Miller Avenue in Brooklyn, was <strong>release</strong>d on her own recognizance.<br />
Maurice Hayes, 35, of 1501 Royce Street in Brooklyn, was <strong>release</strong>d on his own recognizance.<br />
Marvin Jackson, 33, of 103-16 110 th Street in <strong>Queens</strong>, was ordered held on $25,000 bond/$15,000 cash with<br />
a bail sufficiency hearing.<br />
Christopher Lewis, 37, of 111-61 144 th Street in <strong>Queens</strong>, was ordered held on $10,000 bond/$5,000 cash.<br />
Adrian Sylvester, 28, of 1473 Royce Street in Brooklyn, was ordered held on $10,000 bond/$5,000 cash<br />
with a bail sufficiency hearing.<br />
Carl Tappin, 39, whose last known address is 133-38 130 th Street in <strong>Queens</strong>, was ordered held on $15,000<br />
bond/cash with a bail sufficiency hearing.<br />
Christopher Vincent, 26, of 242-09 136 th Avenue in <strong>Queens</strong>, was ordered held on $15,000 bond/cash.<br />
NDAULA ENTERPRISE (9 defendants)<br />
Quate Alexander, 35, of 669 Park Place in Brooklyn, is presently being sought.<br />
Yusekbek Makhamadaliev, 45, of 143 Bay 37 th Street in Brooklyn, was <strong>release</strong>d on his own recognizance.<br />
Alexander Ndaula, 30, of 2546 Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn, was ordered held on $50,000 bond/cash with<br />
a bail sufficiency hearing.<br />
Quiet Money Realty LLC (a.k.a. EZ Approval Auto Sales and Leasing LLC), of 2546 Stillwell Avenue<br />
in Brooklyn, will be arraigned on the next court date, December 14, 2011.<br />
Rear Guard Enterprises, of 2546 Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn, will be arraigned on the next court date,<br />
December 14, 2011.<br />
Ronda Richardson, 49, of 2546 Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn, was <strong>release</strong>d on her own recognizance.<br />
Luis Santiago, 33, of 1640 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, was ordered held on $5,000 bond/cash with a bail<br />
sufficiency hearing.<br />
Alain Saint Phard, 26, of 10521 Flatlands 6 th Street in Brooklyn, was <strong>release</strong>d on his own recognizance.<br />
Silver Arrow Auto Sales, of 430 Industrial Avenue in Teterboro, New Jersey, will be arraigned on the next<br />
court date, December 14, 2011.<br />
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