Police arrest 2 in car scams

Costa Mesa police have arrested two men in a suspected large-scale auto consignment scam in which victims bring their cars in to get sold but never see any of the money, authorities said.

Detectives arrested Jalal Din Jalali on suspicion of five counts of grand theft. He surrendered to authorities Wednesday morning.

Jalali, 60, faces additional charges of conspiracy of grand theft auto, with enhancements for illegally taking of funds in excess of $50,000, using a dangerous weapon, fraud or embezzlement exceeding $500,000, and commission of two or more related felonies involving fraud or embezzlement, according to the Orange County Superior Court records.

Suspected accomplice David Gordon Emmott, 67, also surrendered to police Wednesday. He has been charged with nine counts of grand theft auto with enhancements for taking funds in excess of $50,000, using a dangerous weapon, fraud or embezzlement exceeding $500,000, and commission of two or more related felonies involving fraud or embezzlement, according to the court records.

Approximately 30 victims have contacted police in Costa Mesa over the last six months, many of whom continue to pay off the financing on cars they no longer have, Sgt. Frank Rudisill said.

Some victims receive letters in the mail from the bank notifying them they still owe money on a car loan that was supposedly taken over by the new owner, Rudisill said. Others would call the Harbor Motors to check on the status of their old vehicle and were told it was still on the lot when it had been sold weeks before, Rudisill said. Other victims would show up on the lot and were given a check that bounced, according to police.

One victim had his checks from the resale lot bounce for one year, police said.

Police estimate the company allegedly took more than $1.1 million from the sale of about 30 vehicles, Rudisill said.

“They’re also not paying the DMV fees so the new owners can’t get the car in their name,” Rudisill said.

DMV investigators have become involved, as have almost all of the banks that originally financed the purchases of the vehicles, Rudisill said.

“The problem is, how do you make a guy pay you,” Rudisill said. “What do you do? File a civil suit and wait a year-and-a-half?”

Orange County prosecutors filed charges Thursday against Jalali, Emmott, Ricardo Fuentes, 41, Guy Manh Dac Hua, 35, and Patrick Norman McConnell, 63, according to court records.

Jalali and the four other alleged co-conspirators had warrants issued for them Friday, authorities said.

Fuentes and Hua both have $250,000 warrants out for their arrest, according to the Orange County Sheriff. The others have $25,000 warrants.

Investigators have been watching the Harbor Motors in the 2600 block of Harbor Boulevard since complaints against the company began piling up earlier this year, police said.

There were still about a dozen cars on the lot when investigators first began their surveillance of the business, police said.

The lot closed up shop after investigators called vehicle owners and informed them of the investigation, police said.

Fuentes and Hua, the lot’s corporate officers and the two thought to be the masterminds behind the alleged scheme, have not returned to the business for months, police said.

KELLY STRODL may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].