A 29-year-old Flushing man is accused of allegedly buying a car with a $47,321 loan he took out in another individuals name as well as siphoning money from the accounts of other individuals to pay for the loan payments and insurance.
According to Queens County District Attorney Richard Brown, Jin Guang, 29, of Flushing, was denied a loan for a car at Hyundai of Long Island City and returned the next day with another individual who agreed to co-sign for the loan. The loan was approved in the amount of 47,000.
About six months later, a New Jersey man filed a report with his local police department, claiming that someone fraudulently took a loan out in his name at Hyundai of Long Island City dealership in the amount of $47,000.
It’s additionally alleged that a mother and daughter who shared an account at Dime Savings Bank noticed several unauthorized charges on their account, including a $2,000 payment towards Hyundai towards the loan and a $950 credit card payment on an account in Guang’s name.
Last month, another victim came forward and reported that his debit card had a charge of $590 paid to Progressive Insurance for the Hyundai that Guang purchased.
“The main defendant is accused of orchestrating several very complicated and devious plots to fraudulently acquire goods for himself by using the hard-earned money and good credit acquired by others,” Brown said in a statement. “The victims in this case include a car dealership in Queens, a New Jersey man, a mother and daughter and a property owner in Flushing, to name a few. Each victim’s life has been thrown into credit and banking chaos due to the defendant’s alleged greed.”
Police arrest Guang as a result of a routine motor vehicle stop in Flushing on March 28. According to the complaint, at the time of his arrest, police found a New York State benefits card on the driver of the vehicle, Qiu R. Chen, a 26-year-old Flushing woman, that had a different name and picture on it. A Citibank Diamond Preferred Mastercard, Visa card and a Macy’s credit card in the same name as the New York State benefits card was also found on Chen. In addition to the suspected fraudulent documents, police recovered ketamine from the car.
Both Chen and Guang were placed under arrest at the scene. According to a release from Brown’s office, Guang and Chen were each charged in a criminal complaint with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and driving by unlicensed operator. In a separate complaint, Guang was additionally charged with second-, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, second- and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, first- and second-degree identity theft, first-degree falsifying business records and petit larceny.
Bail was set at $100,000 for Guang and $5,000 for Chen and both defendants are ordered to return to court on April 12, 2016. If convicted, Jin faces up to 15 years in prison and Chen up to 4 years in prison.