SANTA MONICA—The Los Angeles Country District Attorney’s Office announced that six individuals are facing loan sharking charges for allegedly providing car title loans to unsuspecting customers who were behind on payments and had their cars unlawfully repossessed.
All of the defendants in the case are charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit loan sharking, which could net up to five years in prison. The suspects being charged include: Alex Loxley, 39, of Santa Monica, Daniel Cool Star, 33, of Los Angeles, Mikayel Simonyan, 31, of North Hollywood, David Watkins, 34, of Beaumont, Walter Reyes-Illescas, 28, ofLos Angeles and Gustavo Aguirre, 33, of Glendale.
Loxley, Simonyan, Star, Watkins and Reyes-Illescas have all entered a not guilty plea in the case. Aguirre was slated to be arraigned in court on Tuesday, October 14. According to a press release from the LADA’s Office, Deputy District Attorney Ellen Aragon of the Consumer Protection Division indicated that the defendants are charged with operating a series of unlicensed finance companies offering car title loans.
Most of the victims were Spanish-speakers who had the information regarding the loan terms explained to them in Spanish, but asked to sign contracts in English. None of the companies were adequately licensed or bonded and the interest charged on the loans was more than 150 percent.
The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs with the assistance of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the California Department of Business Oversight and the Department of Homeland Security.
