Used Car Dealer to be Sentenced for Selling Sandy-Damaged Autos

A used-car dealer from Manalapan who admitted selling Superstorm-damaged autos to unwitting customers using fake titles is likely to spend three years in a New Jersey state prison.

Prosecutors are recommending the term for Jonathan Olin, 42, operator of D&D Auto Sales of Old Bridge, according to information from Acting New Jersey Attorney General John J. Hoffman's office.

Jessie Dinome, 30, of Jackson, a suspended technician for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), pleaded guilty to tampering with public records and is being recommended for up to 364 years in a county jail. She was suspended by MVC officials on October 28, 2013. authorities said.

Olin admitted getting fake documents for eight cars and selling seven of them. Prosecutors seek forfeiture of his New Jersey car-vending license for a yet-to-determined amount of time and full restitution to victims, which amounts to about $86,000, investigators said..

As conditions of Dinome's plea bargain, the state will seek forfeiture of her state employment and no future public-sector work in New Jersey.

Both are scheduled for sentencing on October 31.

Jacob Douek, 40, of Staten Island, a former salesman for the company, is accused of conning customers into buying damaged cars. He faces three second-and-third-degree counts related to theft by deception and records tampering.

Christina Farese, 33, of Old Bridge, has applied to have related charges dismissed by entering pre-trial intervention, authorities said.

"By ruthlessly cashing in on Superstorm Sandy, Olin not only cheated customers of his car dealership, he put those customers and other motorists at risk, because these flood-damaged vehicles had the potential to fail and even catch fire on the highway," said Hoffman in a prepared release, noting that two of the cars actually did fail soon after the transactions took place..

The case reached the Division of Criminal Justice by MVC based on information from the National Salvage Vehicle Reporting Program and an ABC News investigation in which a producer allegedly bought a flood-damaged pickup truck for $19,999. The company's license has been under suspension since July 17, 2013.