Fraudster Scams Dealers, Financial Institutions Out of Over $800,000

Jerry Agostini Jr., 52, has been indicted in a dealership scam worth more than $800,000. Agostini used fabricated information and a dummy corporation to get vehicles, equipment and checks from vehicle and equipment dealerships in the Kenton, Warren, Hamilton and Butler counties of Ohio.  The scam reportedly occurred between January 2014 and March 2015 when Agostini went to several dealership seeking heavy duty trucks for his business.

According to Ohio state attorney general, Mike Dewine, the scam started when Agostini went to a dealership in Warren county with false financial records claiming that his fake company, “Engineered Environmental” was a multimillion dollar organization. With the documentation he created, Agostini secured loans for vehicles worth, tens of thousands of dollars. According to DeWine, the scam impacted auto dealerships, equipment dealerships and financial institutions that provided the loans.

Added up over time and several counties, Agostini was able to scam nearly $1 million from those dealers and other businesses. Investigators have recovered nine vehicles that Agostini purchased from dealers using falsified information.

According to the Ohio State Attorney General’s website, Agostini was indicted on Aug. 28 on the following charges:

• Engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a second degree felony;
• Grand theft of a motor vehicle, a fourth degree felony;
• Theft by deception, fourth and fifth degree felonies;
• Receiving stolen motor vehicles, a fourth degree felony;
• Attempted grand theft of a motor vehicle, a fifth degree felony; and
• Receiving stolen property, fourth and fifth degree felonies.

Agostini is currently in the Clermont county jail awaiting his arraignment next week.