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South Florida car salesman gets 6+ years for stealing $3M from clients

Shiraaz Sookralli
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former salesman at a Florida Porsche dealership has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for scamming more than 30 customers out of about $3 million by creating fake sales orders for rare cars.

Court records show that 45-year-old Shiraaz Sookralli was sentenced last week in Fort Lauderdale federal court.

He pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Sookralli had been a salesman at Champion Porsche in Pompano Beach. Prosecutors say he created a shell corporation with a similar name in 2017.

He made bogus sales orders for non-existent future exotic Porsche models and took deposits from customers, which he put into the shell company's bank account.