DEL REY OAKS, Calif. — Professional Carwashing & Detailing recently reported on an employee of Del Rey Car Wash, who was accused of embezzling over $150,000 of cash with plans to flee to Mexico.
According to www.montereycountyweekly.com, owner Sam Alladeen made the accusations and also claimed the employee, Victor Salazar, tearfully admitted to it and promised to pay the money back, the article continued.
However, Salazar claimed that Alladeen threatened him with deportation if he did not hand over the money he was about to make from the sale of a rental house, the article noted.
Alladeen sued Salazar on Dec. 6th and said he did not go to the police because Salazar had worked for him for over 16 years and had children, the article added.
After Alladeen sued, Del Rey Oaks Police began to investigate, which resulted in Salazar’s arrest on a charge of felony embezzlement on Dec. 23rd, the article stated.
On Dec. 26th, a formal complaint was filed seeking to keep Salazar in jail with no bail, the article noted.
Police and District Attorney Sarah Ma argued that Salazar had enough assets to flee to Mexico and used a 1998 felony drug conviction as further evidence that he should remain behind bars, the article stated.
However, the judge sided with Salazar, saying, “There is absolutely zero proof there are any funds available, or that he poses any kind of flight risk.”
Salazar’s bail was set at $20,000, and he was out of jail by that evening, the article noted.
In the civil suit, Alladeen has been trying to stop the sale of the rental house, claiming Salazar used the money he embezzled to purchase his family’s residence and rental, the article stated. However, Salazar submitted documents showing that he and his wife were placed on the title of the home they live in — owned by a cousin — in 2011 and became the sole owners in 2014, and they purchased the rental in 2015 using a down payment from a joint bank account.
A few months ago, Salazar put the rental house on the market, telling Alladeen that he was about to earn $150,000 in profit, and he claimed that, afterwards, Alladeen decided Salazar must have stolen the money to purchase the home and began “harassing” him for it, the article noted.
Alladeen stated he saw surveillance video of Salazar putting cash in his pocket after a sale and that when confronted, Salazar tearfully admitted to thievery, the article added.
Alladeen’s attorney, Christopher Panetta, stated in a separate declaration Salazar agreed to pay the money back in a meeting at his law office, the article noted, but Salazar’s attorney denied the confession ever happened.
The lawsuit was filed after Salazar stopped coming to work and it appeared he was selling the rental, the article concluded.
Read the original article here.
