TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – A Tempe used car dealer arrested Wednesday is facing multiple charges of theft and fraud, accused of cheating clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Detectives with the Arizona Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General say Farhad Kankash, owner of Onyx Motorsports, allegedly committed fraud against both customers and lenders.
ADOT officials say Kankash had allegedly committed several types of fraud, including failing to provide titles to customers who purchased vehicles, not paying off liens on trade-in vehicles, and defrauding lenders by obtaining multiple loans for the same vehicle.
In one instance, Kankash is alleged to have failed to pay off the liens of vehicles traded in to the dealership leaving the customers with two vehicle loans to pay off, ADOT officials say.
On another occasion, Kankash not only failed to pay off the lien of a trade-in, he turned around and sold the vehicle to another customer, officials say. This allowed the dealership to profit off the trade-in while leaving the previous owner of the vehicle stuck with paying it off.
Kankash was arrested at his Scottsdale home Wednesday. He is charged with 14 felony counts for theft and fraudulent schemes.
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