A 62-year-old Mexican national, deported from the United States in 2017 but allegedly gained illegal re-entry, was taken into custody this week after being suspected of embezzling $7 million from his employer, authorities said.
Alexander G. Ramos of Newport Beach was charged on Thursday, May 22, with fraud, a felony that carries a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ramos was being held without bail.
According to an affidavit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ramos was employed in the victim company’s risk-management department from 2017 until his termination in September.
Ramos had knowledge of his employer’s loans and developed relationships with title agents and other business partners nationwide, authorities said, at times submitting unauthorized payment requests to the company’s accounting department on behalf of the title and risk department.
According to the affidavit, he allegedly orchestrated the issuance of company checks to multiple parties, including the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.
“The checks were supposed to cover expenses for tax, titling, and licensing associated with car purchases,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “However, Ramos purposely caused his employer to send too much money to the outside entities.”
Ramos allegedly directed those entities on how to dispose of the excess funds, including instructing them to send money to bank accounts he controlled, prosecutors said.
“A law enforcement review of financial records revealed that approximately $7 million in checks and wires were deposited in Ramos-controlled bank accounts from the outside entities in the car industry,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “The origin of some of the funds deposited into Ramos’ bank accounts showed the checks and wires were made out to the victim company and were intended as refunds to that company’s clients who had overpaid for vehicle registration fees.”
Ramos allegedly transferred funds to other accounts for personal use, buying a home in Irvine instead of returning the funds directly to his employer. According to the affidavit, the illegal transactions date back to at least January 2020.