HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A South Florida car dealer is being accused of taking $275,000 from a customer and not delivering.
That customer, Alan Sue, admits he made a huge mistake when he bought the Mercedes G-Wagon online, sight unseen.
It’s not the first time Local 10 News has reported on Dream Auto Collection in Hollywood.
“You sent $275,000 of your hard earned money to people you don’t even know? How do you do that?” asked Local 10′s Jeff Weinsier.
“I’m a fool Jeff,” replied Sue. “It sounded so good. They made everything sound so nice.”
After years of searching, Sue found his dream vehicle online, at Dream Auto Collection on Pembroke Road in Hollywood.
It’s a 2023 Mercedes Benz G63 with the extremely rare BRABUS package.
Now Sue says it was the biggest mistake of his life.
“Seriously Jeff, I thought about killing myself,” he said. “I’ll say that right out, I was stupid and foolish.”
Sue lives 4,770 miles away in Hawaii. When he saw the pictures online, at 78 years old, he decided this was it.
“A G class is (the) ultimate off-road Mercedes, and that is what I wanted,” said Sue. “So I called them up and they immediately answered the phone. I spoke to someone named Victor who told me he was the owner of the company.”
This bill of sale is stamped and signed by someone at Dream Auto Collection with an agreed price of $275,000.
In an email, Victor gave Sue a routing number and bank information.
According to bank records provided by Sue, $275,000 dollars was wired to Dream Auto back on April 12 out of two different banks.
“He had acknowledged he had received both of the wires and he would be shipping the car to me,” said Sue.
But the G Wagon never made it to the port in San Diego to be shipped to Hawaii.
“At that point, I’m getting worried because we missed two shipping deadlines,” he said. “I’ve tried to call them, I’ve tried to email them, I’ve tried to text them, and they are nonresponsive.”
Weinsier went to Dream Auto to try and get some answers.
He found Oleg Tyulenev. State records show he is the president of Dream Auto.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m not going to talk to you,” Tyulenev said.
“Why not?” asked Weinsier, showing photos of the G Wagon. “Where is this car?”
“That’s it, end of story,” Tyulenev replied.
“It’s not the end of the story, it’s the beginning of the story,” Weinsier said. “The guy is suicidal. This happened back in April. He hasn’t heard from you guys.”
Last year, Weinsier was at Dream Auto after a Georgia couple sent them over $15,000 for a used Lexus that they never received.
That car was sold to someone else, and the couple’s refund requests were ignored until Local 10 News got involved.
“We have been here before,” Weinsier said to Tyulenev. “You all did this to the people in Georgia? Do you think you are going to get away with this?”
“That’s it, we are done talking,” said Tyulenev as he closed a garage door.
A half hour after that confrontation, Victor called Sue and claimed he was on vacation in Russia and even sent a picture.
Victor apologized for a “miscommunication” and told Sue they sold the G Wagon to someone else.
Victor told Sue he’d be back in August and would process a refund.
Sue filed a complaint with the FBI, the Hollywood Police Department, and the State Attorney General’s Office in Tallahassee.
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles are aware of Sue’s case and what happened.
No one will confirm if they are investigating.