2 Arraigned For Auto Crimes Fraud

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A New Rochelle resident and Long Island man were arraigned for auto crimes fraud against a New Rochelle automobile dealer. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said Israel Viloria, 39, of New Rochelle, was arraigned Jan. 16 and James Castellano, 52, of Valley Stream, Nassau County, was arraigned Wednesday.

Both men were charged with the following:

• Two counts of second-degree grand larceny, felonies
• First-degree scheme to defraud, a felony

Additionally, Castellano was charged with the following:

• 20 counts of first-degree falsifying business records, felonies
• Second-degree grand larceny, a felony
• Third-degree criminal tax fraud, a felony (under state tax law)

Authorities said Castellano was the office manager and Viloria was the used car manager for New Rochelle Hyundai LLC, a car dealership in New Rochelle.

According to the indictment, from about Sept. 28, 2016, through July 14, 2017, the two men were engaged in a scheme to defraud JPMorgan Chase out of more than $700,000 and New Rochelle Hyundai LLC out of more than $500,000.

As part of their scheme, prosecutors said they illegally sold vehicles owned by New Rochelle Hyundai through Global Auto Sales LLC, a car dealership owned in part by Viloria, and kept the proceeds of these sales.

Authorities said they listed, in New Rochelle Hyundai's records, details of cars that were not owned by the Hyundai dealer.

By doing so, the dealership's bank, JPMorgan Chase, made business funds available for the purchase of these vehicles. That cash, which went into New Rochelle Hyundai's accounts, helped to cover up the theft of vehicles that Viloria and Castellano were selling on the side.

Castellano is also charged with stealing about $300,000 by depositing checks made payable to New Rochelle Hyundai LLC into his personal bank account, according to prosecutors. Those checks were supposed to received by the dealership.

He also failed to pay taxes on that money for the 2017 tax year, authorities said.

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