WOODSIDE — A New Jersey man formerly employed at a used car dealership in Woodside has been charged with defrauding two customers out of more than $10,000, the Queens district attorney said.
Authorities said Julio Estrada, 39, of 112 Knobb Hill Road in Hackettstown, N.J., was working as a salesman at New York Motor Group, at 60-20 Northern Blvd. in Woodside, until December 2013 when he allegedly tricked two individuals into believing he could pay off their vehicle loans if they gave him lump sums of cash, the DA said.
Estrada, who also went by the name John DeSantos, allegedly stole $10,600 from the two customers and deposited the money into separate bank accounts, according to the DA.
Estrada was arrested March 19 and charged with third-degree grand larceny, second-degree forgery, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, third-degree attempted grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, first-degree scheme to defraud and fourth-degree attempted criminal possession of stolen property, the DA’s office said.
He was arraigned March 20 in Queens Criminal Court and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, according to the borough’s top prosecutor.
