Cupertino Couple Pleads Guilty To Luxury Car Scam

CUPERTINO-A Cupertino couple pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to a luxury car scheme that resulted in more than $3.4 million in losses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Yujen Chen, 60, and Maria Chen, 58, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft involving their business at 888 Auto Corporation, involving 10 or more victims, according to federal officials.

They used the business to lease luxury vehicles including ones from Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Toyota, which would then be exported to other countries.

The couple was able to lease the vehicles through associates and friends, some who were paid $500, and promised to make the car payments, federal officials said.

The Chens took the cars under other people’s names and exported them, according to federal officials. The couple kept the money received from the lessees, who believed they were paying for the car, federal officials said. They also used other people’s names for the leases without their approval, federal officials said.

In their plea agreements, the couple admitted to being car brokers who took money from people who trusted them to purchase the cars on their behalf, according to federal officials.

In November 2013, the Chens were indicted on 24 counts. As part of their plea deals, the other 22 charges will be dismissed during the sentencing, federal officials said. They were arrested on Dec. 4, 2013 and appeared in court the following day, when they were released and placed under home confinement, according to federal officials.

They face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or double the amount gained or lost from the offense, in addition to restitution, for the conspiracy charge, federal officials said.

The aggravated identity theft charge can lead to a maximum penalty of 24 months in prison, according to federal officials.

The couple is out of custody and scheduled to be sentenced on April 25.

-Bay City News Service contributed to this article