A Florida man was convicted last week after a federal jury found him guilty of carjacking a 24-year-old Black man due to a mix-up on an auto loan.
Local station WPLG reported the victim financed a 2020 Honda Accord last October but was unaware of an agreement between the finance company and Guru Auto Sales, owned by 58-year-old Erik Hadad’s family, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. That agreement stipulated that if a customer was late on a payment within the first two months of the loan, the finance company could demand the approximately $13,800 it paid for the loan back from the dealership.
However, the customer was unaware of this, as he was not provided a copy of the paperwork submitted to finalize the deal.
“That part of the agreement mattered because the victim’s first payment bounced after he set up autopay, with the victim paying the first installment late and with a late fee in late November 2023,” prosecutors said in a press release.
That led the finance company to send Guru a letter on Dec. 14, 2023, demanding the loan of about $13,000 be repaid immediately.
Guru was told they couldn’t repossess the car, and within five days, the victim was current on his account.
But that didn’t stop Hadad from taking action, following the victim in a BMW to Miami International Airport. At a red light, he got out of his car and approached the man’s car.
“Hadad, whom the victim had never met before, got out of the black BMW in the middle of the intersection and approached the victim’s Honda, ripping off the paper temporary tag and aggressively yelling at the victim to get out of the car,” the DOJ said in a statement.
The victim sped away when the light turned green, but Hadad eventually caught up to him at the MIA Tri-Rail station, authorities said, and resumed “aggressively screaming for the victim to get out of the car.”
“Hadad lifted his shirt to reveal that he had a gun holstered in his waistband, which led the victim to surrender his keys,” the DOJ release states.
The victim called Miami-Dade police, who arrested Hadad, an Israeli national. State charges later became federal after it was determined the Honda sold to the victim was “transported, shipped and received in interstate and foreign commerce,” prosecutors said.
Hadad is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
“Now you’re going to jail all over a used $13,00 Hyundai,” one person responded to a video package about Hadad’s actions. “Wow, that is crazy… why did they ever think that would be okay… insane.”
