Defendant Allegedly Possessed $246,250 in Stolen Vehicles; Made $81,000 in Car Sales Over Course of Scheme
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that a Bronx man has been indicted on second-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property and additional charges for forging car titles and selling stolen vehicles on the Facebook Marketplace.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly preyed on victims who were vulnerable, including a working single mother, and a woman who was caring for her sick mother. I encourage anyone that buys a vehicle to research the history of the car, as there are unscrupulous sellers online looking to take thousands of dollars from unassuming individuals.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Justin Vargas, 33, of 160 West 174th Steet, was arraigned today by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Darlene Goldberg on second-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, second-degree Grand Larceny, four counts of thirddegree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, six counts of third-degree Grand Larceny, six counts of second-degree Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, six counts of first-degree Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, six counts of fourth-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, first-degree Scheme to Defraud, two counts of second-degree Scheme to Defraud, and four counts of third-degree Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle. The defendant is due back in court on November 13, 2025, and bail was set in the amounts of 200k cash, 200k bond, 200k partially secured bond at ten percent.
According to the investigation, from July 1, 2024, to September 14, 2024, the defendant allegedly sold six stolen vehicles in the Bronx, a combination of Honda CR-Vs and Acura TLXs, which he advertised on the Facebook Marketplace. The defendant allegedly targeted vulnerable buyers and encouraged them to borrow tens of thousands of dollars for the transactions or take out loans. Vargas allegedly gained the trust of victims by showing them forged motor vehicle documents and would meet with buyers in the Bronx to do the sales. Before selling the vehicles, the defendant allegedly concealed the VIN numbers on stolen cars with another VIN number, and then “washed” the car titles by using new information to match the new VIN. The victims found out their cars were stolen, after bringing the forged titles to the Department of Motor Vehicles to register their cars. The defendant sold the cars to the victims for approximately $16,000 cash each. One of the victims had purchased a car so she can drive to college while living at home to take care of her mother with heart failure. Another was a single mother who depleted her life savings to get a car to get to work and care for her children. Over the course of the scheme the defendant allegedly made $81,000 cash in sales and possessed approximately $164,625 in stolen vehicles.
District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detective Kevin Falconer of the Auto Crime Division. for his work on the case.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
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