A MECHANIC has allegedly scammed drivers out of $40k by running a bogus auto repair scheme.
Trusting customers would drop off their car for repairs, but when they returned their money, the man and their car had vanished.
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Carlos Mireles has allegedly scammed multiple people out of $40,000 in cars and cash, according to the Harris County prosecution team in Houston.
Mireles has been arrested, charged with felony theft and is expected to appear in a Houston court imminently.
One alleged victim, Juan Agosto, claimed: “It was a huge scam, he knows what he’s doing.
“He has a history of doing this, and I’m glad he’s behind bars!”
He claims that he dropped off his Jeep Wrangler at Mireles’ shop along Chippewa Boulevard, Houston and paid him up front.
Over the next few months, he claims to have kept getting the “run around” from Mireles.
Despite calling him repeatedly, he either got no response or vague excuses.
When he showed up, the shop was empty, and his Jeep was gone.
Agosto added: “Once I showed up at his place after he didn’t answer any of my phone calls, everything was gone.
“He moved shops without telling anyone anything.
“I was really upset at that point. I thought I lost my Jeep and I’d never see it again.”
Agosto later learnt that his car was illegally sold to someone else in Wharton, Texas.
He immediately called the sheriff, and his tip led to Mireles being charged with felony theft and the return of his jeep.
He said: “My immediate thought was this guy went ahead and sold my car without my permission.”
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