More Charges for Miami-Dade Car Dealership Employee Accused of Scamming Customers – NBC 6 South Florida

A former Miami-Dade car dealership employee accused of ripping off multiple customers is facing more charges.

Carlos Ravelo, 51, was back in a Miami-Dade courtroom Friday on new charges of grand theft and issuing a worthless check.

Ravelo was arrested Monday and now faces at least nine grand theft charges, along with theft from elderly and organized fraud charges, Miami-Dade jail records showed.

Ravelo was a former finance manager at AutoNation Honda Miami Lakes in northwest Miami-Dade.

According to an arrest report, the new allegations involve a couple who said they paid Ravelo $16,500 in cash for the purchase of a Honda Accord.

As days passed, Ravelo kept making excuses for why the victims couldn’t have the vehicle, and when they went to cash a $23,000 check he’d given them in case the deal fell apart, it came back with an insufficient funds message, the report said.

The victims eventually received $14,500 in cash from Ravelo but not the remaining $2,000 they’d paid for the car, the report said.

That same month, another couple had allegedly paid Ravelo $12,000 cash for a Honda CRV, but when they tried to pick it up, the CRV was never available.

“He let us ride in the car, he gave me the VIN, the receipt, making it seem like everything was legit,” victim Olga Tellez told NBC6.

Police said Ravelo pulled the same scam with at least six people, promising them a special cash-only deal and they would get the car on a later date.

An arrest report said one customer even paid $50,000 in cash for a car.

During a court hearing earlier this week, a judge mentioned that Ravelo admitted to having a gambling problem and spent all the money, and that some of the victims only did business with him because they knew his mom and considered him a family friend.

Ravelo was granted bond but a judge said he must prove that the money he’s using to post bond is coming from legitimate sources.

The arrest report said Ravelo’s employment with AutoNation ended in December. An AutoNation spokesperson said in a statement to NBC6 that the company is working with local authorities and will continue to assist them in this matter.