PROVIDENCE, R.I.– A Massachusetts used car dealer has been arraigned in U.S. District Court and ordered detained, charged by way of indictment with allegedly participating in a wide-reaching conspiracy to defraud credit unions and other financial institutions in several states.
According to the U.S. Attorney, Rolando E. Estrella, 32, of Dracut, Mass., obtained car loans secured with stolen personal identifying information and fraudulent documents.
It is also further alleged Estrella conspired with others to defraud financial institutions in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and numerous other states across the country.
The indictment alleges the scam employed by Estrella and others involved the theft and use of individuals’ personal identifying information to open bank accounts with major banks and smaller credit unions.
“Using that information along with counterfeited documents including automobile titles, Estrella and others applied for used car and truck loans which were then deposited into bank accounts opened in the ‘sellers’’ names, after which the proceeds were quickly withdrawn,” the U.S. attorney said.
Estrella had been the operator of Estrella National Auto, LLC, a used car dealership in Lawrence, Mass.
10-Count Indictment
An arrest warrant was issued for Estrella after a federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of a Social Security number, and seven counts of bank fraud. He surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service in Rhode Island and was arraigned before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan, the U.S. Attorney said.
Among the credit unions named as alleged victims in the indictment are Alliant Credit Union in Chicago, Bethpage FCU in New York, Pentagon FCU in Virginia, and Digital FCU, Direct FCU, Metro FCU, Hanscom FCU and NESC FCU, all in Massachusetts.