May 5, 2021—A New Mexico shop owner has been accused of defrauding customers after allegedly taking their money and never performing repairs along with not returning some of the vehicles to their owners.
According to a report from the Farmington Daily Times, five people were allegedly defrauded by Silas Auto in Farmington, N.M. They paid in amounts varying from $688 to $4,500 to have work completed on their vehicles and shop owner Silas Bedah allegedly asked for the money upfront.
The defendant is then accused of trying to avoid phone calls and making excuses for why the auto work was not performed. In some cases, Bedah refused to return the vehicles until he received more money for the auto work never performed.
Bedah is accused of two third-degree felony counts of fraud and three fourth-degree felony counts of fraud.