A former employee at a Miami luxury auto dealership is accused of masterminding a huge fraud scheme with her husband and son, reportedly defrauding the business of more than $1 million, police said.
Yuddy Mejias, 51; her husband, 54-year-old Miguel Gonzalez; and her son, Angel Gonzalez, 28, were detained Monday on charges including grand theft, organized fraud, and organized plan to defraud, according to Miami-Dade jail records.
According to police files and a warrant, Mejias has worked at Murgado Automotive Group, commonly known as Brickell Motors, since 2013.
She began in the cafeteria and worked her way up to billing clerk, where she was responsible for processing refund checks.
Mejias was suspended last year after an accounting department employee informed a vice president that she had been defrauding the company, according to the reports and warrant.
According to the warrant, Mejias issued over 480 checks from the company to her husband and son for a total of more than $1 million.
“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.”
According to the warrant, Mejias was able to mask the theft by changing accounting records.
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 $50,000 bond, and Miguel Gonzalez was handed a $60,000 bond.
Miami Police stated that their investigation was ongoing.
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