Rocky Hill Man Admits Role In Auto Loan Fraud Scheme: Feds

ROCKY HILL, CT — A used car salesman in Middletown faces up to 30 years in prison for his role in a car loan scheme in which lenders were defrauded out of more than $300,000, according to authorities.

Justin Williams, 42, of Rocky Hill, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of wire fraud in connection with the fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John H. Durham announced Friday.

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, according to court documents.

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

“Williams submitted loan applications indicating 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. 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.”

Williams was accused of defrauding lenders of $300,037 between November 2015 and June 2016 through the scheme.

Williams, who was arrested on a criminal complaint on Jan. 16, was previously convicted of federal fraud charges related to a Hartford-area scheme to defraud mortgage lenders, and was on federal supervised release at the time of the auto loan fraud, according to officials.

Williams, who was released after posting a $100,000 bond, faces a maximum term of 30 years in prison. He also faces additional penalties for violating the conditions of his supervise release.

Hajati pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud stemming from the scheme. He also was previously convicted of federal fraud charges related to the Hartford-area mortgage fraud scheme and was serving a term of supervised release. He was sentenced in June to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $654,952 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.