A New Jersey woman has filed a lawsuit against a Kia dealership in Passaic County, claiming a salesman used her personal information to steal her trade-in vehicle, which he slept in and drove for two months before he was caught.

Laura Halen, 47, of Verona, claims in court papers that she leased a vehicle from Fette Kia in Clifton on May 20, 2024, and traded in her Jeep Wrangler. According to the lawsuit, the transaction was handled by Argenis R. Checo, a salesman working for the dealership as an independent contractor.

Checo told Halen he would return the Wrangler back to a Paramus Jeep dealership to complete Halen’s lease transaction, according to the lawsuit, filed Oct. 22, in Superior Court of Essex County.

Instead of returning the Jeep, however, Checo kept the vehicle for himself an

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