A Texas man has been charged with a felony after allegedly writing a string of bad checks to luxury car dealers—and driving away with not just a new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but also a 2021 Ferrari F8 Tributo.
Prosecutors allege on June 25, 2022, Angel Reyes, 44, visited Ferrari of Houston seeking to purchase a blue F8 Tributo in the dealer’s inventory. Reyes allegedly provided a Texas driver’s license as proof of identification and wrote a check for $468,702.16, which dealer employees mistook for a wire transfer, and released the car to Reyes.
On June 29, JP Morgan notified Ferrari of Houston the check had bounced for insufficient funds. The dealer says it contacted Reyes asking for the car’s return, only for Reyes to allegedly respond with an image of a bank balance depicting $1.6 million in funds. (The balance was later determined to be falsified.)
Dealer employees were alerted to the car’s location by a local restaurant, where they intercepted an unidentified male driver who claimed he had rented the car from Reyes for a date. The driver handed over the car without resistance, but his name and contact info were not taken down. The F8 Tributo appears to have been re-listed for sale since.
Reyes allegedly then visited Mercedes-Benz of Houston Greenway on July 8, where he allegedly signed a falsified credit application claiming $360,000 of annual income. He allegedly left with a 2022 Mercedes-Benz S580 after writing a $60,000 check for a down payment, which also bounced. The car was returned by an unspecified party July 13.
On July 28, both the Ferrari and Mercedes salespeople identified Reyes from a photo lineup. During the investigation, authorities also said Reyes had allegedly written other bad checks to dealers with less success. On June 23, he allegedly attempted to purchase a 2021 Range Rover Velar with a $60,000 check. On June 28, he was accused of trying the same for a 2017 Audi R8 listed at $190,961.47, then again on July 5 for a 2022 Maserati MC20 worth $410,385.34. All checks bounced, bringing the total value of the vehicles to over $1.9 million.
At the time of the check-writing spree, Harris County district attorneys said Reyes was already out on bond related to other financial crimes in 2021. According to ABC 13, one was related to stealing a Mercedes SUV from a rental company in Florida and reporting the vehicle stolen in Houston using fake temporary tags in his name.
Reyes told court officials he had “no mony [sic]” for a lawyer and was last employed in 2021. Reyes is due back in court on May 8.
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