Several people are out of thousands of dollars and a car after police say they were scammed by an employee at a Miami Lakes dealership.
Carlos Ravelo, the former finance director, is accused of promising customers a deal, but they could only pay in cash and couldn’t get the car until a later date.
Olga Tellez said in December she and her husband went to AutoNation Honda on Northwest 167th Street in Miami Lakes to buy a car. He said Ravelo made them the offer, a 2019 Honda CRV for about $12,000, but they had to pay cash. Tellez and her husband withdrew the money from the bank and made the deal.
“He let us go in the car, gave me the VIN, the receipt, making it look like everything was legit,” Tellez said.
Tellez said Ravelo told them they could pick up the car the next day. He went to the dealership day after day.
“I’m coming tomorrow for my money because if they don’t give it to me tomorrow, I’m going to call the manager, so he begged me not to,” Tellez said.
She said that when she returned, he did not appear.
Police said Ravelo ran the same scam on at least six other people, promising them a special cash-only deal and getting the car at a later date.
The arrest report said a customer paid $50,000 in cash. In at least two sales, Ravelo allegedly gave the customer a personal check while waiting for their car, and when they went to collect it, it returned with an insufficient funds message.
Tellez said he knows another customer who was scammed.
“Nobody wants to go through this, but every action has a reaction,” Tellez said. “You go into an institution like this trusting that they are legitimate.”
Tellez has only one request.
“I don’t want more money, I want the money that was stolen from me,” Tellez said.
Ravelo remains in jail and faces numerous grand larceny charges.
An AutoNation spokesperson told NBC6 in a statement that the company is working with local authorities and will continue to assist them in this matter.
Authorities believe there could be even more victims of fraud. If you were affected, you can report it anonymously by calling the Crime Line at 305-471-8477.
