Nearby: Valley Stream Car Dealership Employee Allegedly Swindled Customers

A former Valley Stream car dealership employee was arrested Thursday for allegedly swindling customers by promising to fix their credit, police said.

Julio Estrada, 38, of Hackettstown, N.J., is charged with third-degree grand larceny, two counts of forgery in the second degree, fourth-degree grand larceny and two counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

Police said that Estrada, between the months of August and October 2012 while employed at 1-800-Pre-Owned at 400 West Merrick Rd., allegedly defrauded customers for upwards of $6,000. Estrada, also known as “J,” would allegedly take cash from unsuspecting customers as payment to fix their credit. After the victims did not hear back from the defendant, they contacted the dealership owner, who told them that Estrada did not work for the company anymore.

After an investigation, Estrada was located in Queens on Thursday and placed under arrest without incident.

Detectives ask that anyone with information about this crime or feels they have been victimized by the defendant to contact the Fourth Squad at 573-6452.