Dec. 4, 2012 By Christian Murray
The owners of Auto Palace, a Woodside-based used car dealership, have been charged by the Queens District Attorney’s office on multiple counts of tax fraud.
The district attorney has also indicted the car dealership’s former finance manager Julio Estrada (a/k/a Jay Torres) on charges that he defrauded 23 car buyers out of a more than $115,000 in cash.
Hooshmand Kohanano (Danny) and his wife, Fereshteh Kohanano (Jenny), allegedly failed to pay more than $728,000 in state and local sales taxes, according to the criminal complaint. The couple, who live in Great Neck, face up to 25 years in prison on multiple counts of grand larceny, falsifying business records and criminal tax fraud.
According to the complaint, Auto Palace, located at 53-21 Northern Boulevard, reported to the state tax department that it had made $4.6 million in sales between September 2006 and November 30, 2009—resulting in a $389,000 tax bill that it paid.
However, following a court-authorized search of the premises, the complaint alleges that Auto Palace generated $13.5 million in sales and had a tax liability of $1,118,000.
Several phone calls to the dealership, which is graded an F by the Better Business Bureau, went unanswered. The company has been subject to a lot of online criticism from consumers over its sales practices.
Meanwhile, the complaint alleges that Julio Estrada, the former finance manager who lives in New Jersey, duped many buyers into financing their purchases. To entice customers to buy a vehicle, the complaint said that he promised customers that after six months of on-time payments they could come back and see him at the dealership and refinance their loans at a better rate and thus lower their monthly payment by hundreds of dollars.
However, when customers returned to Auto Palace and met with Estrada months later, he would tell them that there was a “fee” or “down payment” – ranging from $1,000 to as much as $13,000 – that they had to pay in cash in order to refinance their loan, the complaint alleges.
Estrada took a total of more than $115,000 in cash from 23 car buyers and never refinanced their loans, according to the complaint. When the car buyers realized that their original loan payments were still due and contacted their original lenders, they were told that the loans were still in full effect and the loans had not been refinanced.
In some cases, the loans went into default because Estrada had allegedly told them to stop paying their loans because the refinanced loans would be going into effect.
Estrada is presently awaiting arraignment in Queens Supreme Court on a 95-count indictment. He faces up to 7 years in prison.
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27 Comments
Was Auto Palace opened on Saturdays (Shabbat)
No they were closed. I think because the owner, Danny, observed the holiday.
Karma is a bitch and they are finally getting theirs! I had court dealings with these crooks a few years ago. They are liars, and crooks and I still have all the paper work to prove it! I knew someday they would pay for all the times they CHEATED people out of thousands of dollars, I knew I wasn’t the only one. This made my day!!!!
I am so happy to hear that all of (USA Auto Park a.k.a Auto Palace) have finally got caught up in there scandal. I have purchased a vehicle back in 2001 and have experienced the same in the so call refinancing and carfax B.S which messed up my credit. Danny and Jenny have always played the roll of not knowing what is going on in the dealership the same for those that work for them. It is all a team effort to jerk people to make fast cash because before they would finance anyone in house they would have to see Danny or jenny before the deal is made. I have learned a lot from my previous ordeals with this dealership.
Jay Torres is a comete douche bag. He basically robbed $10,000 from my fiance by taking his $10,000 cash down payment and putting it in his pocket and then ADDED the 10,000 to our loan!!!! I guess our money is gone and its our loss but 7 years is not enough for him. He steels hard working peoples money. Put his ass away for life and I hope he gets raped everyday the same way he screwed so many innocent people for their money!!
I bought a car from them back in 2010. It was a nightmare!!! Joe Torrez should do more then 7 years!!! I wish i could be in court when they put him away!!! I had to fight !!! I called cops I did everything from calling my attorney to get my money back!! He was pissed off he even crused me out!!! Luckly the bank did not want to approve the loan because they were many red flags on the loan… He stated in the loan that the car had many extras and was trying to keep the down payment of $10,000.00.
My parents were financing a car for appx $10,000 (not sure) and put a down payment of $3,500… I went to meet them at the Auto Palace dealership the day to pick up the car, and 2 hrs later the car shut down on the highway– already problems!! A red flag there they decided to bring the car back for a check up (did it ever pass inspection???) they said everything was OK with the car and again my father kept the car… This January they received a $6,000 FEE (NO ONE KNOWS FOR WHAT) and they Immediatly returned the car but were supposed to get their down-payment as agreed on their contract ($3,500) TODAY 1/31/13 my father went to get his $$$ money back and they are NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!!!! If anyone can HELP regarding this situation please EMAIL>>> newyork8877@yahoo.com <<<
So how do people like us get our money back?
if anyone got there money taken from these people. please contact the quens distrect attorneys office and ask for detective ed sirkos hes the detective working on the case with the da s office
They did the same to me, one one of the 23. I wanna know when the court date are because I would love you go and see these scumbag go to jail!
I went to this dealer to get a car i deposit 2000 as a dowmpayment. They told me The payment would be 316 at The end came out to be almost 800 a month, Now They dont want to get me back my money. Does anybody knows when court is cuzz i want my money back. Thanks
Got’ em!!!!!!!! You reap what you sow, you dirtbags!!!!!!!! I will be there to maximize whatever punishment those f*cks get! they stung me last year and the Most High has rendered His judgement!
DANNY AND HIS HIDEOUS WIFE ARE THIEVES!! DANNY IS A PIECE OF CRAP DRUNK THAT ONLY BOUGHT “FRAME DAMAGED” CARS AS WE SAY IN THE BUSINESS WHICH MENT THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE CAR HAD BEEN COMPRAMISED DUE TO AN ACCIDENT! MEAN WHILE ALL THE ACCIDENT REPORTS FROM THE CARFAXES HAD BEEN PHOTO-SHOPPED OUT! ALL HIS CARS HAVE, HAD, AND WILL HAVE MECHANICAL PROBLEMS TOO. THE DMV, IRS, FBI, & CONSUMER AFFAIRS HAVE BEEN AFTER HIS SLEEZY ASS FOR YEARS! COPS WERE CALLED EVERYDAY TO THE DEALERSHIP, NOT TOO MENTION THE DOZENS OF COURT CASES AGAINST THEM. THEY STOLE SALES TAX MONEY, FAKE WARRANTY MONEY, FAKE WINDOW ETCHING FEES, AND THE LIST GOES ON. THEY BRIBED EVERYONE, YES BRIBED (TOP OFFICIALS)!! ANYONE WHO DEALT WITH HIM AS GONE OUT OF BUSINESS OR WERE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS! AKA FAKE NY STATE INSPECTIONS AND THE LIST GOES ON & ON.. IF HOOSHMAND (DANNY) WASN’T DRUNK HE WAS WHORING AROUND WITH NO DISREGARD FOR ANYTHING! THANKS TO ALL THE FRAUD DEALINGS THAT JAY (FINANCE MANAGER) DID FOR THEM, HOOSHMAND CURRENTLY OWNS A HUGE HOUSE IN KINGS POINT A VERY UPPER SCALE VILLAGE IN GREAT NECK ALONG WITH A FEW INCOME PROPERTIES IN OR AROUND THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD. ALL PROBABLY PURCHASED IN CASH FROM ALL THAT MONEY HE STOLE! KARAM IS A BITCH HOOOOSHY I HOPE YOU GET ALL THAT’S COMING TO YOU AND THEN SOME!!
I worked for this guy ‘DANNY’ FOR 3YRS,What i took away from that place was scars that i will carry for the rest of my life..Not only was he & his wife stealling TAX-WARRANTY-WINDOW ETCHING-PROCESSING FEE’S-LO JACK FEE’S,They was also stealing from there employes,we never got paid on the books,we nevver got any bonuses we did not even have hot water there.for god sake we were not even able to call in sick cause we would get deducted from our misly $100 salary for the day what ever mood him or jenny were in..one day a co’woker of mine got hurt & she was not allowed to call the ambulance from there she had to say that she got hurt across the street if not she would be terminated..if the cars did not pass inspections it didnt matter cause danny had inspections in his drawer..my other co’woker bought a a lemon from danny cash AkA PAID IN FULL & JENNY & DANNY PUT A LIEN ON IT CAUSE HE LEFT TO WORK WIS HIS COMPETITION…IF A CUSTOMER BOUGHT A CAR CASH THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO GET A BILL OF SALE FROM JENNY CAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE THE CUSTOMER SIGN A DMV-8821 FORM IN JENNY’S OFFICE TO KEEP SOME IF NOT ALL OF THE SALE’S TAX..I GOT kickrd out of my aparment that i had in sunny side for 15yrs cause he did not give me my rent money..DANNY OR JENNY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT THEM SELF & I MEAN ANYONE EVEN THERE KIDS WERE ALWAYS LEFT ALONE IN THE HOUSE ALL DAY & NIGHT WHILE THEY WERE ROBBING EVERYONE OF THERE $$$$$$ & TIME..I’M ASHAME TO CALL THEM MY COUNTRY MEN…
I Hope all is well @ least for the finance mngr.Cause he did help me with my loan & i got copy’s of all my paper work..In the beginning of my loan i had some doubtfull question’s in respect to my loan but he took time out to explain everything to me & for that i was very greatfull..Even though i got a WE OWE FORM from the dealer promising me a extra key/a navigation disk & a CD Changer that was promised to me by the owner DANNY.Even though my husband told me not to belive anything he said cause he smelled like pure alchohol…P.S.I’m still waiting on my stuff…God Willing one day they will deliver them…..
Yeah her masculine looks are gonna be a hit in the men’s prison showers… picture a gerbil with child baring hips and a mullet for a hair style… The was Jenny… spit when she spoke and would mark her territory by rubbing against the vehicles in the lot as to leave that fresh musty scent to warn off other primates in the area…. good times it was
Thanks to the Sunnyside Post for the great reporting on this story.
Cash for clunkers isn’t just another government scam apparently.
@John
Handsome wife. 🙂
U made my day.
awesome John…just awesome.
I apologize, It seems my original post was hidden in there somewhere. I take all I said back. I was not censored.
I am man enough to admit my error.
Hey post, stop censoring MY posts. You want to have a forum go ahead but understand this you are a news site. The minute you start censoring topics that don’t break any rules of conduct and you become a slanted biased agenda ridden site.
The same freedom of speech you enjoy to report is the same freedom I am exercising to post.
That being said, Remove my post again and I won’t be visiting this site again.
I worked for this place for a few months and quickly got out of there once I saw what they do to their customers. After the finance manager Joe left (who was always honest and a great guy and carried that dealership on his back for years) the place went downhill. They have pre-printed out carfax reports… I have seen them be the bank where the customer is desperate for a car and makes insanely high payments to the dealership on vehicles only worth 3 or 4 grand. I saw a sales person take 10’s of thousands in deposits promising the customer they would get a 30k car for only 15k – and bounced with the cash and because the customer conspired with the salesman to basically steal (no matter what the salesman told them its still theft) there was nothing the cops could do. Danny and his handsome wife had this coming ever since they told that first customer “the car is PERFECT no accidents” – every car there had at LEAST one accident. Please people READ what your signing and walk away from anyone who talks too fast or makes promises to you they will fulfill and refinance the loan for a better rate in 6 months … Print out YOUR OWN CAR FAX – I have even seen FAKE carfax sites where the sales person logs on to a site looking like carfax. Anyone scammed by this place was those who were flying on the high of driving outta there in that Benz and will sign and agree to whatever just so they can get the keys and pick up their friends in the new ride. Also anyone offering you a deal that is impossible to get anywhere else, it usually means your the only one who will be sorry in the end. Danny (owner) pretends to not know what’s going on but he is the one buying the garbage vehicles and his wife makes the carfax reports. People come to this country and became millionaires because of the opportunities here and yet you got greedy and wanted more so … I hope you have someone to put money on your books while mr and mrs Danny are upstate for 25yrs. Rot … You deserve it
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight something completely unrelated.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/q-train-murder-suspect-arrested-in-fatal-shoving-of-ki-suk-han-onto-subway-tracks-as-train-arrived_n_2239961.html
Another crazy person pushes someone into the train tracks. Stop giving the Chaaange bum money you dumbass enablers. Stop giving him pizza and butcher block food and drinks and MONEY. just STOP.
HE is the one who is shitting all under the train.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89175843@N07/8122274567
You don’t pick up after your dog you get fined and a nice note from an angry passive aggressive tenant. but if a grown man shits in the street its ignored. disgusting and pathetic. Take back your town from this terrorizing dangerous nut bag.
Ye have been warned.
Much more interesting stories in the LIC Post. Current headline reports on the arrest of a local exotic dancer arrested for a murder committed in Louisiana in 1984. These car dealer guys are nothing but scum and when convicted should be sentenced to hunt for rats at Zabar’s.
why would you buy a car if you live in the city you have the great and reliable transit system and tons of bike lanes? for Hipsters is a regular smorgasburg of opportunity to talk to strangers!
Let Em’ Rot!