Crooked Dealership Scams Mercedes G-Wagen Customer Out Of $275,000
A Florida dealership is in hot water after failing to deliver a vehicle that a customer purchased for over $200,000.
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The whole ordeal started when Alan Sue found a 2023 Mercedes-Benz G63 Brabus for sale at Dream Auto Collection in Hollywood, Florida. Living in Hawaii, there was no way for the 78-year-old Sue to see the G in person. He called Dream Auto Collection and spoke with a man named Viktor Stefurc and hashed out a deal, ABC Miami’s WPLG 10 reports:
A G class is (the) ultimate off-road Mercedes, and that is what I wanted,” said Sue. “So I called them up and they immediately answered the phone. I spoke to someone named Victor who told me he was the owner of the company.
This bill of sale is stamped and signed by someone at Dream Auto Collection with an agreed price of $275,000.
In an email, Victor gave Sue a routing number and bank information.
Bank records confirmed Sue wired $275,000 to Dream Auto on April 12. Sue says the deal was done with the understanding that the G-Wagen would be shipped from Florida to the Port of San Diego for shipment to Hawaii. That’s when things spiraled. Sue told ABC he tried contacting Deam Auto through calls and emails and got no response. Even ABC 10’s investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier couldn’t get answers out of the dealer after he showed up in person.
Weinsier went to Dream Auto to try and get some answers.
He found Oleg Tyulenev. State records show he is the president of Dream Auto.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m not going to talk to you,” Tyulenev said.
“Why not?” asked Weinsier, showing photos of the G Wagon. “Where is this car?”
“That’s it, end of story,” Tyulenev replied.
“It’s not the end of the story, it’s the beginning of the story,” Weinsier said. “The guy is suicidal. This happened back in April. He hasn’t heard from you guys.”
Now, months after the incident amid no communication, promises of getting Sue’s money back and Stefurc fleeing to Russia, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issued an emergency suspension of Dream Auto’s dealer license. Despite this, Sue is still without his money and G-Wagon. And the stress over the situation has gotten to him, telling ABC 10 that at one point “I thought about killing myself.” Thankfully he’s a bit better now.
The whole situation is even worse as Sue isn’t the only victim. ABC 10 says a couple in 2023 sent the dealer $15,000 for a used Lexus they never received. Dream Auto’s sketchy doesn’t stop there either. Apparently some of the Brabus Mercedes’ the dealer was selling aren’t real, including the one Sue purchased.
Local 10 News has learned BRABUS is suing Dream Auto Collection, claiming several G Wagons they were selling, including the one Sue paid for, had been modified with counterfeit BRABUS branding.
“Apparently, unbeknownst to me, the car I bought was not a real BRABUS, it was a fake,” said Sue.
We’ve had a lot of car dealers behaving badly lately. Whether it’s dealers engaging in release-and-recapture sales, dealers selling customer’s cars without the customer’s knowledge or dealers adding thousands in bogus fees, it’s obviously more important than ever that car buyers stay frosty. To get the most solid car-buying advice around (in our humble opinion) check out our buying expert Tom MacParland’s advice here.
