A Richmond man is accused of being the middle man in an international scheme that fraudulently bought and resold tires.
Bulmaro Santiago-Julian, 47, of the 1800 block of North J Street is formally charged with Level 5 felony corrupt business influence and five counts of aiding, inducing or causing fraud — three as Level 6 felonies and two as Class A misdemeanors. Santiago-Julian was jailed Dec. 4 and posted bond.
An initial hearing is scheduled for 9:20 a.m. Dec. 17.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, a Richmond Police Department investigation found that an unknown person in the Dominican Republic advertises on Facebook Marketplace the sale of new tires for a 50% discount. When customers who live near Richmond expressed interest, a tire order was placed with a local business in the name of Tos Auto Repair, and the tires were bought using fraudulent credit card numbers.
Santiago-Julian would himself pick up or have someone else pick up the tires at the local business, the affidavit said. The customer would go to Santiago-Julian’s residence for the tires, and Santiago-Julian would receive $100 from the sale price, sending the rest to the organizer.
Five of the six fraud charges involve purchases at Midas Auto Services & Tires, and one involves Beach Automotive. Midas flagged three transactions that cost $4,879.12, $2,539.95 and $1,776.19 and delayed a fourth transaction until law enforcement became involved.
A version of this article appeared in the December 11 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.