Watchung Dealership To Pay Back Customers 'Stolen' Deposits

WATCHUNG, NJ — A Somerset County auto dealership has agreed to pay $37,500 to reimburse six consumers who say a salesman pocketed their cash deposits, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced Monday.

The salesman, Benjamin Carrasquillo of New York City, New York, has since been fired. He was also indicted in Somerset County on charges of third-degree theft by deception in connection with the missing deposits.

Carrasquillo was working at Liccardi Ford Lincoln and Liccardi Auto Group in Watchung, who agreed to reimburse the consumers to resolve the Division of Consumer Affairs' investigation into their complaints.

The consumers said they gave cash, ranging from $2,000 to $15,000, to Carrasquillo as down payments on new and used vehicles. But when the consumers returned to Liccardi Ford to finalize their sales, they were told that the representative had been fired and the dealership had no record of them or their deposits, according to Porrino.

“These customers handed over their cash in good faith, trusting that the money would be used as down payments on the cars they ordered, not pocketed by an unscrupulous salesman, as it appears happened here,” said Porrino. “What makes this situation even more troubling is that all of these customers speak very little English, a fact the salesman allegedly exploited for his own financial gain.”

The alleged crimes occurred between March and June 2017.

The consumers submitted complaints to the Division’s Office of Consumer Protection, which launched an investigation into the matter. The Division and Liccardi Ford entered into a Consent Order in which the dealership agreed to reimburse the six consumers for their lost deposits totaling $37,500.

Under the Consent Order, Liccardi Ford also agreed to handle future consumer complaints in the manner set forth in a 2005 Consent Order the dealership previously entered into with the Division, specifically, through the Division's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process.

Consumers who believe they have been cheated or scammed by a business, or suspect any other form of consumer abuse, can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.

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