HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Healthcare worker Ashley Quesada works full-time to support her three young children. But it's still not enough to afford a car and home, which is why Quesada, a single mom, lives with her mother.
Quesada told ABC Action News she was desperate to find a place of her own when she met a man last year who befriended her and offered to help. She said she had no idea that the man, Dominick Perez, was the focus of an I-Team investigation in 2016 and a convicted felon until it was too late.
Quesada said she paid the 48-year-old Perez over $3,000 in deposit money for both a home and car he said he could get at auction. But when Perez delivered neither, she found the I-Team investigation online and made a call for action.
The I-Team exposed Perez seven years ago after he posed as a car dealer and took over $40,000 from Armando Romero and Andrew Weiner for vehicles he never delivered.
Our story prompted the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to open an investigation that led to Perez's arrest and a felony conviction in 2017. He was released from prison in 2020 and is on probation until 2025.
Quesada said she felt played once she saw our story. In October, Perez returned all but $1,200 of her money. She asked ABC Action News to help her get the rest of her money.
We caught up with Perez by phone. He said he was only trying to help a friend.
He has since paid Quesada in full.
