CUBITANOW Newsroom ~ Wednesday March 22, 2023
The owner of a Hialeah used car dealership is on the run and his accomplice has been arrested after using the identity of a 73-year-old woman to fund multiple vehicles.
Damian Iglesia Martinez, 26, was arrested Monday at his grandmother’s home on 18th Street in the southwest of the city, according to an arrest report quoted by local broadcaster América TeVé. Police are still searching for Christopher Landy Mora, 24, the owner of Royalty Motors, a dealership at 5612 E. Eighth Ave., across from the Hialeah Police Department.
The investigation began last December when an insurance agent contacted the police. The National General Insurance investigator contacted authorities after speaking with the victim about an accident involving a 2020 Honda Accord.
According to the report, the woman knew nothing about the car, the insurance policy, or the driver or passenger involved in the accident. She also said she never bought a 2016 Ford Mustang or a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, but both vehicles were registered, insured and financed in her name.
Police said Iglesia-Martinez posed as the victim’s nephew and Mora, who was also the dealer’s finance manager, signed all the documents.
In the loan documents, they said the woman worked at a cell phone store and had an income of $8,000 a month, although the elderly woman points out that she was making barely $800 a month at the time.
Police also said Iglesia-Martinez was involved in the accident involving the fraudulently purchased Accord. The victim suffered an “immeasurable amount of emotional and financial damage” from the program, including being sued over the accident and having his driver’s license revoked in Florida.
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