A New Jersey auto shop employee is facing charges after authorities say she sold a customer’s vehicle to a scrap yard without permission, and the car was crushed before police could ever recover it. The incident happened in Bloomingdale after a woman dropped her vehicle off at a local repair shop and was later unable to get it back.
Months of Unanswered Calls
Police say the vehicle’s owner spent months trying to reach the shop to check on repairs and arrange pickup, and according to authorities, mechanics avoided her calls the entire time. After growing suspicious and getting nowhere, she reported the vehicle missing. Investigators traced the car to a private scrap company and discovered it had already been destroyed by the time anyone started looking.
An Alleged Impersonation Scheme
Authorities say 49-year-old Maribel Pena-Matos, an employee at the shop, allegedly impersonated the vehicle’s owner in order to unlawfully sell the car to the scrap yard. Investigators say Pena-Matos presented herself as the rightful owner to complete the sale, though it remains unclear how much money changed hands in the transaction. By the time officers located the vehicle, the scrap yard had already crushed it and shipped it to an out-of-state facility, closing off any realistic chance of recovery.
Charges Filed, Owner Left to Deal With Insurance
Pena-Matos now faces charges including impersonation and motor vehicle theft, though as with any pending case, these remain allegations that haven’t yet been proven in court. The vehicle’s owner, meanwhile, has been left without her car entirely and now has to work through the financial fallout via her insurance company rather than getting the vehicle itself back.
The investigation has confirmed the vehicle was destroyed before recovery was possible, and the case is proceeding through the legal system as prosecutors build out the full scope of what happened at the shop.