A New Jersey car dealership will pay $37,500 to six customers whose down payments were allegedly stolen by an "unscrupulous" salesman, authorities said.

The former salesman at Liccardi Ford in Watchung, Benjamin Carrasquillo, of New York City, has been indicted by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office on charges of theft by deception, the state attorney general's office said in a statement.

Carrasquillo told the customers who came to Liccardi to purchase vehicles between March and June that he would find the cars they wanted from other sellers and have them shipped to the Somerset County dealer, authorities said.

He told the buyers he could not accept check or credit cards, insisting they make down payments ranging from $2,000 to $15,000 with cash, authorities said.

When the customers returned to Liccardi to finalize their purchases, they were told that there was no record of their down payment and that Carrasquillo had been fired for skipping work too many times, authorities said.

The customers complained to the state's Division of Consumer Affairs, which launched an investigation, authorities said.

"These customers handed over their cash in good faith, trusting that the money would be used as down payments on the cars they ordered, not pocketed by an unscrupulous salesman, as it appears happened here," Attorney General Chris Porrino said in a statement. "What makes this situation even more troubling is that all of these customers speak very little English, a fact the salesman allegedly exploited for his own financial gain."

Licciardi admitted no wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement.

The dealership's attorney, Thomas Russomano of Schiller & Pittinger in Scotch Plains, noted that Carrasquillo was let go before the dealership knew of the alleged thefts.

"They complied completely with the investigation," Russomano said. "They didn't even learn about it until after he had been fired."

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.