George Hajati, Wire Fraud, Connecticut 2020

George Hajati, a 41-year-old used car dealer from Cromwell, Connecticut, has admitted to defrauding lenders out of $654,952.56 through a scheme involving fake borrower information.

According to court documents, Hajati owned and operated a used car dealership in Middletown, known as Car Nation, LLC, Car Nation CT, LLC, and Middletown Motorcars. Between April 2016 and July 2019, Hajati and his employees submitted false documents to lenders, including fictitious or altered pay stubs and income verification letters.

The false documents claimed borrowers had salaries they did not make, worked at jobs they did not work, received income from the Social Security Administration they did not receive, and made down payments they did not make. In some cases, the borrowers were not aware of and did not consent to Hajati using their personal identifying information to obtain automobile loans.

Hajati was previously convicted of federal conspiracy and fraud offenses related to a Hartford-area mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded various lenders of more than $1 million. In August 2015, he was sentenced to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

Hajati was released from federal prison in August 2016 and was on supervised release at the time of the auto loan fraud. He was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on July 2, 2019, and is currently out on a $560,000 bond pending sentencing.

Hajati is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford on March 6, 2020, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years for the fraud offense, and two years of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release.

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/middletown-used-car-dealer-admits-defrauding-lenders-violating-supervised-release