Alexander Ramos, an illegal immigrant who worked for a classic car company, directed the company’s intended check in his account, prosecutors say.
Alexander G. Ramos, 62, who lives in Newport Beach, California, faces 20 years in federal prison if convicted, according to the US Law Office in Los Angeles.
The federal judge ordered Ramos to be imprisoned without detention and scheduled for his arrest on June 30th.
A Mexican citizen, Ramos worked for a company in Newport Beach that specializes in purchasing classic cars. He was taken from the United States in 2017, but returned, according to the US Lawyer’s Office.
Prosecutors say he was employed at the Newport Beach Company from 2017 to September 2024. He was fired from his position in the risk management department.
Court documents filed by the U.S. Lawyer’s Office claim that Ramos is aware of the employer’s loans and is associated with title agents or other partners across the United States. Ramos also oversees requests to the accounting department of the company’s title and risk department for payments to the title agent, and sometimes submits requests themselves, prosecutors said.
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Ramos is said to have arranged for outside parties to overpay, including the Las Vegas DMV Services business. The check was to cover taxes, titles and license costs associated with the purchase of the car.
He reportedly told these entities to places that directed the extra money, including sending the funds to bank accounts he controlled, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement officials have reportedly reviewed their financial records and found that around $7 million in checks and telegraph payments were deposited in Ramos controlled bank accounts by external entities.
The investigation reports that some of the checks and wire payments to the company where Ramos worked revealed that vehicle registration costs were intended as refunds to clients who were oversalid.
Instead of being returned to Ramos’s employer, it is said that Ramos has moved the funds to other accounts he managed for personal use. Prosecutors allege that some of the money was paid to Irvine’s home.
According to Redfin, the median price for Irvine’s home was $1.6 million in April.
According to court documents, the remittance dates back at least to January 2020.
The FBI and the inspector’s offices of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are investigating the case.
