Mexican National Embezzled $7M From Newport Beach Employer, DoJ Says

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A Mexican national who was deported from the United States in 2017 but gained illegal re-entry was taken into custody Thursday after being suspected of embezzling $7 million from his Orange County employer.

Alexander G. Ramos, 62, of Newport Beach, was charged with wire fraud by a federal magistrate judge who ordered Ramos jailed without bond.

The felony carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Ramos was working in the Risk Management Department at the "victim company" since 2017 until his termination in Sept. 2024.

Ramos had knowledge of his employer's loans and developed relationships with title agents and other business partners nationwide, at times submitting unauthorized payment requests to the company's accounting department on behalf of the title and risk department.

According to the affidavit, he allegedly orchestrated the issuance of company checks to multiple parties, including the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

"The checks were supposed to cover expenses for tax, titling, and licensing associated with car purchases," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

"However, Ramos purposely caused his employer to send too much money to the outside entities."
Ramos allegedly directed those entities on how to dispose of the excess funds, including instructing them to send money to bank accounts he controlled, prosecutors said.

"A law enforcement review of financial records revealed that approximately $7 million in checks and wires were deposited in Ramos-controlled bank accounts from the outside entities in the car industry," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

"The origin of some of the funds deposited into Ramos' bank accounts showed the checks and wires were made out to the victim company and were intended as refunds to that company's clients who had overpaid for vehicle registration fees."

Ramos allegedly transferred funds to other accounts for personal use, buying a home in Irvine instead of returning the funds directly to his employer. According to the affidavit, the illegal transactions date back to at least January 2020.

City News Service contributed to this report.