BUENA PARK : 2 Men Accused of Car-Buying Scam

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of buying as many as 15 cars using other people’s financial information, police said Monday.

Raymond Marmolejo, 35, of Fontana and Lance Rodney Oldenberg, 51, of Upland were arrested last week by Buena Park police.

Oldenberg worked for a company known both as Inland Financial and Fleetwood Financial in Upland, which offered to fix bad credit histories for a fee, police said. Instead, the two men allegedly used information gathered to buy cars without the clients’ knowledge.

When payments were not made on a car bought at Campbell Nissan in Buena Park, the bank contacted the supposed buyer and got the response, “What car?” Police Sgt. Terry Branum said. Eleven other cars similarly purchased, Branum said, came from dealers in Buena Park, six from Campbell Nissan. The remaining four came from dealers in Hollywood and West Covina. Most were Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs, and each cost more than than $40,000.

Marmolejo and Oldenberg were both charged with suspicion of conspiracy, grand theft and obtaining property based on fictitious credit applications, Branum said. Two other people are still wanted in connection with the case, police said. Police have not recovered any of the cars.