A former employee of a Miami luxury auto dealership is accused of masterminding a major fraud scheme with her husband and son that allegedly bilked the business out of more than $1 million, authorities said.
Yuddy Mejias, 51, her husband, 54-year-old Miguel Gonzalez, and her son, 28-year-old Angel Gonzalez, were arrested Monday on charges including grand theft, organized fraud, and organized scheme to defraud, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
According to arrest reports and a warrant, Mejias had worked for Murgado Automotive Group, also known as Brickell Motors, dating back to 2013.
She started in the cafeteria and held various positions before becoming a billing clerk, and part of her duties involved processing refund checks.
Mejias was suspended last year after an employee in the accounting department told a vice president that she had been defrauding the company, the reports and warrant said.
An investigation found that Mejias had issued over 480 checks from the company to her husband and son totaling over $1 million, the warrant said.
“You would go in as a customer, you would buy a vehicle, and she would say ‘you have a refund coming to you’ for let’s say $1,000. And she would make out a check under your account but it was going to the name of her husband or her son,” Miami Police spokesman Michael Vega said. “Starting from approximately 2020 they were for $1,000 than $1,500 up to $3,000 a check. Some of these checks were being cashed twice a month, three times a month.”
Mejias was able to change accounting entries to hide the theft, the warrant said.
All three were booked into jail and appeared before a judge on Tuesday. Mejias’ bond was set at $85,000, while Angel Gonzalez was granted a bond of $50,000 and Miguel Gonzalez was given a $60,000 bond.
Miami Police said their investigation was ongoing.
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