Man gets prison term for role in car loan scam

Rocky Hill man also ordered to pay $251,267 in restitution

MIDDLETOWN — The former manager of a city car dealership was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in prison for his role in an auto loan fraud scheme, according to the acting U.S. attorney for Connecticut.

U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny also ordered Justin Williams, 42, of Rocky Hill to serve five years of supervised release after his prison time, with the first three months in home confinement, and to perform 200 hours of community service, according to a release from Leonard C. Boyle, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Williams worked as a salesman and de facto general manager at a used car dealership at 1075 Newfield St. in Middletown,

known variously as Car Nation LLC, Car Nation CT LLC and Middletown Motorcars, which was owned and operated by George Hajati.

In connection with automobile loan applications for multiple borrowers, Williams, Hajati and others submitted documents and statements to lenders that falsely represented the borrowers’ employment, salary, sources of income and amount of a down payment, the release said. The false documents included fictitious, or altered, borrower pay stubs, and income verification letters purportedly from the Social Security Administration, Boyle said.

Williams submitted loan applications indicating borrowers drew salaries they did not make, worked jobs they did not have, received income from the Social Security Administration they did not receive, and made down payments they did not make, according to the release. In some instances, the borrower was not aware of, and did not authorize, Williams’ use of his or her personal identifying information to obtain automobile loans in these ways, Boyle said.

Between approximately November 2015 and June 2016, Williams defrauded lenders of $264,345.54, according to the release, and he was ordered to pay $251,267.08 in restitution.

Williams previously was convicted of federal fraud charges related to a Hartford-area scheme to defraud mortgage lenders, and he was on federal supervised release as the time of his participation in this car loan fraud scheme, the release said.

He was arrested on a criminal complaint Jan. 16, 2020. On Nov. 19, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Williams, free on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison July 5.

Hajati pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud stemming from this scheme. He previously was convicted of federal fraud charges related to the Hartford-area mortgage fraud scheme, and was serving a term of supervised release, according to the court. In June 2020, he was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay $654,952.56 in restitution for his role in the auto loan fraud scheme, and was sentenced to an additional 21 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release, the release said.

Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the sentencing occurred via videoconference, the release said.

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 Conor M. Reardon and David T. Huang.