Man gets additional prison time in auto fraud scheme

Supervised release violation ups total to 4 years

CROMWELL — George Hajati, 41, of Cromwell, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson to 21 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.

Thompson ordered the sentence to run consecutively with a 27-month federal sentence imposed on Hajati last week, for a total of 48 months of imprisonment, according to John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

The sentencing occurred via videoconference, according to a press release.

Court documents and statements made in court reveal 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, Thompson sentenced Hajati to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, the news release said.

He was released from federal prison in August 2016.

After that, and while he was on supervised release, Hajati owned and operated a used car dealership at 1075 Newfield St., 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, Durham said.

The false documents included fictitious or altered borrower pay stubs and income verification letters purportedly from the Social Security Administration, the release said.

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, according to court documents. 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, Durham said.

Between approximately April 2016 and July 2019, Hajati defrauded victim lenders of $654,952.56 through this scheme, and is required to pay full restitution, court documents show.

Hajati was arrested on a federal criminal complaint July 2, 2019. On Dec. 20, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

On June 25, Hajati was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny to 27 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for operating the auto loan fraud scheme, the release said. Chatigny also ordered Hajati to serve the first six months of his supervised release in home confinement, and to perform 120 hours of community service.

Hajati, who is released on a $560,000 bond, is required to report to prison Sept. 25, 2020.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and Conor M. Reardon.