DANIA BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A Dania Beach woman has her car back, but the con man she accuses of initially stealing it, as well as some of her money, remains at large.

The car’s return comes less than a day after Maribel Skjefte asked for the public’s help to find the man she said conned her out of her property and money.

“I don’t have my money, but I have my car, so it’s a surreal feeling,” Skjefte said. “Undrivable still, but at least it’s here. Until he found out he was going to be in the news last night, that’s when he actually reacted.”

Skjefte said her 2010 Lincoln Town Car needed to be fixed after she was involved in a collision.

“I got hit on the side, on the passenger side, so the tire was bent a little bit,” she said.

That’s when a relative recommended that she reach out to a man who identified himself as Juan Lobos to fix her car.

“They knew each other from a bar,” said Skjefte.

When the car was returned Thursday, the damage from the 9-month-old crash had not been fixed.

Skjefte said that she noticed more damage than before because the car had been sitting for so long. A tarp that she had bought for the vehicle had been shredded.

“This was a brand new tarp,” Skjefte said. “This is what the tarp looks like now, so that will give you an idea of how long this car has been sitting with this tarp on.”

Skjefte said she paid Lobos $1,000 and an additional $250 to have her vehicle repaired.

That was back in May 2018, and she still hasn’t gotten her money back.

“We still don’t know where the car is. I have millions of texts from him. ‘Oh, I’m going have it to you.’ Same old story,” said Skjefte.

Skjefte has since had to rely on Uber to get around.

“As a matter of fact, last week, he said, ‘We’ll have it to you by Saturday,’ and every week it’s the same thing, so I told him, ‘You have been reported to the police,'” she said.

Skjefte said the whole situation has made her feel lousy.

“I got hit, like, twice on this because I got hit with the accident and then with my car and then with my money. It’s like three times, really,” she said.

Skjefte said Lobos told her he lived at a Miami-Dade County address that she said doesn’t exist.

7News reached out to Lobos Thursday with no response.

Lobos answered the Skjefte’s call late Wednesday night and said he would return the car and her money on Thursday.

Thursday afternoon, a tow truck showed up at the victim’s house with her car but not her money, and deputies took the driver of the truck into custody.

Officials said Lobos was not behind the wheel of the tow truck, however, and instead paid someone else to deliver the car for him.

“I hope he’s caught. I hope he pays for his crime. I hope he doesn’t do this to no one else,” Skjefte said.

If you have any information on Lobos’ whereabouts, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.

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