A former salesman at a Florida Porsche dealership has been sentenced to jail for scamming over 30 customers out of about $3 million by creating misleading sales orders for rare cars.
U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith sentenced Shiraaz Sookralli, 45, in Fort Lauderdale federal court. Sookralli pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He had faced up to 20 years in jail.
Sookralli, who had been a salesman at Champion Porsche in Pompano Beach, formed a shell corporation with a similar name in 2017, prosecutors stated. Sookralli made false sales orders for non-existent future exotic Porsche models and took deposits from clients, which he put into the shell company’s bank account.
Most of the vehicles were rare, highly sought-after, Carrera 911 models, investigators stated. Sookralli needed deposits from his victims that he later deposited into his shell company’s bank account. The buyers depended on Sookralli’s longtime employment at Champion Porsche and the seemingly legitimate bank account that he used. Sookralli used the money on luxury vehicles, jewelry, nightclubs and restaurants.
Champion Porsche did not approve Sookralli to conduct these transactions. When the dealership found about what Sookralli was doing, it contacted his victims and started cooperating with law enforcement.
