Little Neck Man Accused Of Identity Theft In Scam Car Deals: DA

LITTLE NECK, QUEENS — A Little Neck man was arrested on fraud charges after prosecutors said he used stolen personal information to buy and lease late-model Kia cars, then collected nearly $60,000 in finder's fees for the phony transactions.

Yong “Jason” Jeon, 47, was arraigned Wednesday night on charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, falsifying business records, scheme to defraud and identity theft in connection with the months-long scheme, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said Jeon targeted non-English-speaking Koreans, offering to help them buy or lease cars. He used their names, birth dates and social security numbers to submit the required paperwork, then drove off with the cars himself.

Jeon's lawyer did not immediately return a voicemail requesting comment.

"Using forged documents, faked identification and double-talk, this alleged conman swindled the car dealership out of hundreds of thousands of dollars," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. "Many of the victims didn’t realize they had been conned until they received big bills in the mail for cars they didn’t purchase or lease."

Prosecutors said Jeon launched the scheme in 2019.

In one example cited by prosecutors, Jeon is accused of using a man's personal information to buy two 2019 Kia Sorentos, a 2019 Kia Sedona and a 2020 Kia Telluride.

If convicted, he faces three-and-a-half to seven years in prison.