Middletown Used Car Dealer Admits Defrauding Lenders, Violating Supervised Release

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian C. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that GEORGE HAJATI, 41, of Cromwell, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in Bridgeport federal court to one count of wire fraud stemming from an auto loan fraud scheme.  Hajati also admitted that he violated the conditions of his supervised release that followed a prior federal conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Hajati owned and operated a used car dealership located at 1075 Newfield Street in Middletown known as Car Nation, LLC, Car Nation CT, LLC, and Middletown Motorcars.  In connection with automobile loan applications for multiple borrowers, Hajati, and employees at his direction, submitted documents and statements to victim lenders that falsely represented the borrower’s employment, salary, sources of income, and the fact and amount of a down payment.  The false documents included fictitious or altered borrower pay stubs and income verification letters purportedly from the Social Security Administration.  Hajati falsely indicated that borrowers made salaries they did not make, worked at jobs they did not work, received income from the Social Security Administration they did not receive, and made down payments they did not make.  In some instances, the borrower was not aware of, and did not consent to, Hajati using his or her personal identifying information to obtain automobile loans in these ways.

Between approximately April 2016 and July 2019, Hajati defrauded victim lenders of $654,952.56 through this scheme.

Hajati was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on July 2, 2019.

Hajati was previously convicted of federal conspiracy and fraud offenses related to a Hartford-area mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded various lenders of more than $1 million.  In August 2015, Hajati was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.  He was released from federal prison in August 2016, and was on supervised release at the time of the auto loan fraud.

Hajati is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford on March 6, 2020, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years for the fraud offense, and two years of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release.

Hajati is released on a $560,000 bond pending sentencing.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.