Middletown Car Dealer Sentenced In Fraud Scheme: Feds

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A Middletown used car dealer has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for operating an auto loan fraud scheme while he was on federal supervised release from a prior federal conviction, according to authorities. George Hajati, 41, of Cromwell, was also sentenced Thursday to five years of supervised release following the prison term, U.S. States Attorney for Connecticut John H. Durham announced.

Hajati owned and operated a used car dealership at 1075 Newfield St. in Middletown known as Car Nation, LLC, Car Nation CT, LLC, and Middletown Motorcars.

“In connection with automobile loan applications for multiple borrowers, Hajati, and employees at his direction, submitted documents and statements to victim lenders that falsely represented the borrower’s employment, salary, sources of income, and the fact and amount of a down payment,” officials wrote in a news release. “The false documents included fictitious or altered borrower pay stubs and income verification letters purportedly from the Social Security Administration. Hajati falsely indicated that borrowers made 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 instances, the borrower was not aware of, and did not consent to, Hajati using his or her personal identifying information to obtain automobile loans in these ways.”

The total fraud amount was nearly $655,000 between April 2016 and July 2019, according to authorities. Hajati is required to pay full restitution.

Hajati was arrested in July 2019 and pleaded guilty last December to one count of wire fraud. He 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.

Hajati was sentenced in August 2015 to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was released from federal prison in August 2016, and was on supervised release at the time of the auto loan fraud, officials said.

Hajati’s supervised release hearing is scheduled for June 29, at which time he faces a maximum additional sentence of two years of imprisonment. He was released on a $560,000 bond and is required to report to prison on Sept. 25.