06/30/2023
The Lawrenceville Police Department has issued arrest warrants for two suspects responsible for defrauding over a dozen victims while working at a used car dealership in the City of Lawrenceville.
Investigation:
This past February, the Lawrenceville Police Department started receiving multiple complaints from Auto Star (220 Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville) customers who believed they had just been defrauded by the car dealership. An investigation was immediately launched and our Detectives started interviewing potential victims. After several interviews, Detectives learned of a scheme used by two employees to defraud customers out of thousands of dollars.
The scheme involved the two suspects identifying themselves to customers as managers of the business. The two suspects then asked the victims for a downpayment on a vehicle and after receiving the cash, the victims were instructed to return the following day to finalize the loan process. When the victims returned the following day, they were told by the suspects that their loan application was denied. The suspects would then refuse to return the downpayment to the victims, citing a no refund policy by the car dealership.
Through the investigation, Detectives learned that the suspects sole intentions were to defraud the victims and steal their money. It was determined that the suspects had no intention of processing the loans for the victims as no loan paperwork was ever completed by the suspects or submitted to a financial institution. Additionally, the suspects used social media to lure their victims into the dealership by advertising vehicles for sale owned by Auto Star. The two social media pages used by the two suspects to attract victims were Atlanta Highline Motors and Atlanta Motor Source, both fictitious companies.
Thanks to the investigation, the owners of Auto Star were made aware of several complaints from victims and both suspects were immediately terminated. Auto Star management is working diligently with detectives and are proactively assisting with the investigation. Pursuant to this investigation, Lawrenceville Police Detectives have obtained multiple warrants for the arrest of 27 year old Alexander Weigard from Dunwoody and 30 year old Ibrahim Ali from Buford.
Both suspects remain at large and their whereabouts are unknown.
We are asking for anyone that might have been victimized by these two suspects to contact Lawrenceville Police Detective Woods at [email protected] or by calling 770-670-5172.
