New York Car Dealer Charged With Facebook Marketplace Vehicle Sales Scam Using a Dozen Aliases
Law enforcement has charged a New York car dealer with operating an illegitimate business and scam on Facebook Marketplace. His arrest is the result of an almost year-long investigation by the Town of Manlius Police Department.
The police began investigating Puma Auto Sales LLC in April 2025 after someone reported that the car dealer was selling vehicles he listed on Facebook Marketplace at prices considered to be below normal. WSYR News reports that during these alleged sales scams, the car dealer would receive payments from victims via cash, check, Zelle, or CashApp.
Then he would meet his victims, show them a vehicle, and settle on a price. He would then either give the vehicle to the victim without a title or registration or delay the delivery or pickup for weeks or, in some cases, months. According to Manlius Police Department spokesperson Capt. Jeffrey Slater, they are aware of at least eight cases of this allegedly happening.
Authorities have accused the car dealer of using twelve aliases. He also allegedly used several different business names, including 68 Motors & Cycle Inc., Six-Eight Auto, Affordable Auto LLC, and Pablo Auto.
The car dealership received a scathing review that detailed most of the scam
A Dec. 2025 review of the car dealership on the Better Business Bureau website sheds some light on the car dealer’s alleged business practices.
“The owner [redacted] and [redacted] are operating a large-scale car scam on [redacted] behind the Academy building, which is a small blue sheet metal garage,” the review reads. “They will sell cars on [redacted] marketplace under a fake profile name, and agree to meet at [redacted] and tell their victim to put down a deposit on a vehicle, and then make the victim wait months.
“He will come up with multiple excuses, the most popular being waiting on a title, or the vehicle had problems with it, and then ask you to pick a different vehicle instead. They will never deliver the vehicle and instead take your money through Zelle or cash directly, leaving you with the only option of recovering your money through small claims court or suing directly.
The review goes on to state, “They will funnel the money into different business accounts, such as landscaping business accounts or construction business accounts. They have MANY victims, and because they concealed their true identity, it is hard to go after them legally. They need to get investigated, and our State Attorney General for New York needs to do something about this because too many people are losing tens of thousands of dollars to these scam artists.”
The car dealer now faces numerous charges
Since then, authorities have officially “done something” about it. Police charged the car dealer with first-degree scheme to defraud, five counts of third-degree grand larceny, and three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny.
The Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office, New York State Attorney General’s Office, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Division of Field Investigations, Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, and New York State Police all assisted in the investigation.
