A former Porsche salesman accused in a $2.2 million fraud scheme has been arrested and charged in U.S. District Court in Florida.
Shiraaz Sookralli, 44, a former salesman at Champion Porsche in Pompano Beach, Fla., was charged in connection with an alleged scheme in which he entered bogus orders for the sale of exotic Porsche models to more than 30 customers.
Champion Porsche is the nation's highest-volume Porsche dealership.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan, of the Southern District of Florida, announced the arrest Tuesday along with other federal agencies and Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony. The statement offered no details on how or where the arrest was made.
Sookralli is charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and money laundering. Sookralli made his initial appearance Tuesday, and is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hunt on Friday for his pretrial detention hearing.
According to the criminal complaint, in 2017, Sookralli opened a shell corporation with a name that closely resembled Champion Porsche and another corporate affiliate of the dealership.
After forming the shell corporation, Sookralli opened a bank account in the shell corporation's name, and then entered into bogus sales orders with customers for the unauthorized sales of Porsche vehicles. Most of the vehicles were rare and coveted Carrera 911s, according to the complaint.
The defendant required deposits from his victims in the form of wire transfers, bank checks and cash that he later deposited into his shell company's bank account, the complaint alleges.
Prosecutors, in a news release, said buyers relied on Sookralli's longtime employment title at Champion Porsche, as "vice president of marketing." He allegedly told customers they would receive yet-to-be-built Porsche vehicles. Customers also believed the seemingly legitimate bank account used for wiring deposits to Sookralli. Champion Porsche did not authorize Sookralli to conduct the transactions.
The complaint alleges Sookralli received more than $2.2 million from about 30 customers who never received the vehicles, as agreed. Sookralli used the money for extravagant expenditures, including luxury vehicles, jewelry, nightclubs and restaurants, the complaint says.
Sookralli also allegedly funneled amounts of more than $10,000 at a time from his shell company account to bank accounts he controlled.
