New Jersey Woman Trades In Her Jeep, Then Realizes The Salesman Was Living In It

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After leasing a caller car, Laura Halen expected that nan salesman and trader had already taken attraction of nan Jeep Wrangler she traded in. To her surprise, alternatively of processing nan trade, nan salesman allegedly kept nan Wrangler, lived successful it, and racked up E-ZPass tolls and unpaid parking tickets connected Halen's dime, according to NJ.com. Halen moreover recovered herself pinch an apprehension warrant for nan unpaid tickets.

One of nan biggest perks of trading successful your car is that nan trader will grip each nan paperwork and payments for immoderate existing indebtedness aliases lease agreement. Halen assumed that Fette Kia salesman Argenis R. Checo would return nan Wrangler she traded to nan section trader she leased it from, arsenic he said he would connected May 20, 2024, erstwhile she made nan deal. According to nan suit Halen later revenge against Checo and Fette Kia, Checo did not return nan Wrangler, but alternatively kept it for himself. After it became evident to Halen that nan Jeep had not been returned, she complained to Fette Kia, but they downplayed her claims, denying that Checo had done thing improper. At that point, Halen went straight to nan police. 

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Verona, New Jersey, constabulary caught up pinch Checo successful July 2024. They recovered that each of Halen's claims were true. Checo had, successful fact, been driving and surviving successful nan Jeep, contempt his claims to nan contrary. At this point, Checo was charged pinch theft by unlawful taking. He pleaded blameworthy to this complaint connected May 12, 2025, and paid an assessed nonaccomplishment of $1,016. Faced pinch nan grounds of Checo's misdeeds, Fette Kia fired him. That only resolves nan criminal case, however. Halen's civilian suit is still pending against some Checo and Fette Kia for negligence successful supervising Checo.

Dealers employment immoderate shady strategies astatine times to effort to make a waste aliases make immoderate other money for themselves. The NJ.com communicative isn't clear connected whether Halen was waiting for her Jeep waste and acquisition to beryllium finalized earlier driving disconnected successful her lease, aliases if they sent her distant successful a caller ride, which would make this a classical illustration of a "yo-yo" sale. Regardless, it's beautiful clear that nan salesman and, by extension, nan dealer, did not travel done connected their extremity of nan woody by failing to move successful Halen's Wrangler arsenic they had agreed to. In immoderate states, it is illegal to slumber successful your car, but moreover wherever it's not, it should be your car that you slumber successful — not personification else's without their permission.