PASADENA, Texas - A Pasadena used car salesman is facing multiple charges, including two assault charges for attacking a KPRC 2 reporter and photojournalist.
Court documents reveal that the salesman, 27-year-old David Antonio Estrada, is also accused of embezzling at least $144,454 from a Tomball car dealership.
Estrada is currently in custody after a physical altercation with KPRC 2 reporter Gage Goulding and Photojournalist Oscar Chavez on Thursday. The crew was at Strawberry Road Auto Sales in Pasadena to investigate claims by a single mother who said she was defrauded of $1,500 while attempting to purchase a used car.
"While interviewing Estrada, who is a manager at the dealership, the interaction escalated. Without warning, Estrada reportedly grabbed the camera, twisted arms, and threw elbows at Chavez."
Police arrived on the scene shortly after and arrested Estrada, charging him with two counts of assault. However, the assault charges are just part of Estrada's legal troubles.
Records show he had an outstanding felony warrant for aggregate theft at the time of the incident.
Accused of stealing over $144,000 from Fred Haas Nissan
Estrada, formerly employed as a finance manager at Fred Haas Nissan in Houston, is accused of stealing $144,454 from 73 customer loans between August 2022 and April 2023. According to investigators, Estrada devised a scheme to embezzle customers' cash down payments.
How the scheme worked
"According to court records,"Estrada manipulated the dealership's sales process by altering and forging vehicle sales documents. He used the dealership's systems to hide the theft by funneling down payments into three credit cards not registered in his name.
- An internal system to initiate F&I contracts.
- A data management system (CDK).
- Dealertrack: An external portal for communication with banks and lenders.