Auto shop worker arrested after selling customer's car to scrap yard
Police say the vehicle was crushed and scrapped.
An employee at a Bloomingdale auto shop was arrested after police say she unlawfully sold a customer's car to a scrap yard that later crushed the vehicle.
Last month, Bloomingdale police responded to an auto repair mechanic shop after a vehicle was reported missing. The owner told officers that the vehicle had been dropped off several months earlier and despite several attempts, they were unable to retrieve it.
Police eventually tracked the vehicle to a private company that crushed and scrapped the vehicle.
"Further investigation revealed that an employee of the mechanic shop, identified as Maribel Pena‑Matos, age 49, of Paterson, had allegedly impersonated the vehicle’s owner and unlawfully sold the vehicle to a scrap yard for monetary gain," Bloomingdale police said in a press release. "Officers followed up with the scrap yard and confirmed that the vehicle had already been crushed and transferred to an out-of-state facility."
Pena‑Matos was arrested and charged with impersonation and motor vehicle theft.
