AUBURN - The sales manager for a family-owned auto dealership is facing more than 50 charges in what police are calling a case of large-scale fraud against Volkswagen of America.

The alleged fraud grew out of the automaker's TDI Goodwill Package program begun by the German company after it engaged in emissions testing cheating. The international scandal badly damaged the company's image. VW began the Goodwill program to compensate customers with cash and dealer credit for owners of its diesel cars.

Now, Matthew J. Patrick, 44, of 29 Sylvan Lane, Boylston, faces 54 charges. There are 50 counts of attempting to commit a crime, larceny, two counts of identity fraud, one count of larceny by false pretense and one count of conspiracy.

According to an Auburn Police report, Mr. Patrick is the sales manager at Patrick Motors, 519 Washington St., (Route 20). He is scheduled for arraignment in Central District Court in Worcester Sept. 29. He is a third-generation family member who works at the dealership.

Contacted by a reporter by telephone Tuesday afternoon at the Auburn dealership and asked to comment on the charges, Mr. Patrick said, "There is no comment."

A voicemail left by a reporter for Patrick Motors president, Neil P. Patrick, seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Police learned of the conspiracy from Volkswagen of America in late June. According to Auburn Police Sgt. R. Scott Mills, he began his investigation June 29 when he was contacted by Blake Martini, assistant general manager for sales operations for Volkswagen of America. It was alleged "one or more employees" of the Patrick Volkswagen dealership in Auburn made more than 350 attempts to defraud the VW Corporation through fraudulent online registrations on the TDI Goodwill program.

The benefit package offered by VW consisted of two $500 gift cards and free roadside assistance for affected vehicles.

VW of America identified eight IP addresses and an email address ("Eparts@yopmail") connected with the fraudulent claims "as commonalities among most of the fraudulently registered vehicle identification numbers (VIN) associated with these IP addresses and e-mails," according the Sgt. Mills report.

"The combination of these repetitively used IP addresses along with the use of an untraceable "Eparts" e-mail that required no registrant information prompted VWofA to place a hold on the registered VIN's and associated benefits packages," according to police.

The investigation found that the Eparts email is a service that does not require registration or end user personal information.

"YOP stands for Your Own Protection and is an e-mail that is well suited for fraudulent activities," Sgt. Mills said in his report.

The bulk of the fraudulent registrations were completed in the last fourteen days of the VW TDI program, which ran from November 2015 to April 30, 2016. One IP address was used 192 times and was attributed to Patrick Motors in Auburn. A second IP address was used 50 times and was traced through Charter Communications to Matthew Patrick of Boylston.

Police allege that "an individual using Matthew Patrick's home IP address and familiar with the registration requirements of the TDI Goodwill Program, the previous use of the "Eparts@yopmail" e-mail address and the existence of the eight post office boxes affiliated with this scheme and more likely than not Matthew Patrick ... registered fifty (50) vehicles on the Goodwill Program in an attempt to acquire the benefits of the program."

The post office boxes were used as shipping points for 339 attempted fraudulent program registrations. The post office boxes, the police said, were opened by Matthew Patrick "or at his direction and using his credit card, driver's license, cellphone number and personal e-mail," police said. The post office boxes were obtained during three days at the end of April in five area towns.

In their case narrative, police cited two occasions when Matthew Patrick allegedly called the VW Customer Care line claiming to be calling for customers who were in the dealership at the time and who had registered for the Goodwill program and wanted the benefit plan activated. VW determined neither claim was true, police said.

Restrictions had been placed on the claims because of VW's suspicion about the IP address and possible fraud. VW lifted the restriction on one of the accounts because of the call and the benefits package was immediately liquidated at the Patrick dealership, police learned.

In a second instance cited by police, Mr. Patrick had claimed a female customer was in the dealership seeking help to activate the benefits package that had been restricted because of the IP address concern.

"When asked by VW Customer Care for additional supporting documentation in order to unblock the registered package, Patrick provided a program ID card in (the woman's) name which appeared to have been doctored as well as two different versions of (the woman's) Massachusetts Driver's License." One had a 2014 expiration and a second had a 2019 expiration date. But the police investigation found the woman had died in October 2015 "making it impossible for her to have been at Patrick VW requesting Matthew Patrick's assistance with anything..."

Also implicated in the alleged fraud and cited in court documents for conspiracy are Adam Iannucci, service manager, and Aaron Tringuk, sales manager. Neither man could be reached for comment.