The owner of 611 Transmission and Auto Repair in Stroudsburg was arraigned Tuesday on forgery charges relating to unauthorized vehicle repairs, according to Monroe County District Attorney Michael Mancuso.

Sarfraz Mohamed Abrahim, 43, of East Stroudsburg, was charged with two felony counts of forgery in the office of Magisterial District Judge Paul J. Gasper of Stroudsburg.

The arresting officer is Detective Emmanuel Varkanis of the district attorney’s office.

In an affidavit of probable cause, Varkanis said the charges stem from a complaint he received March 5 from the victim, Alexander Jiminez, who claimed Abrahim’s business performed unauthorized repair work on his 2015 Toyota RAV4 and forged his signature on paperwork.

Jiminez told police he took the vehicle to 611 Transmission on Nov. 27 of last year, and it remained there for 43 days with little communication from Abrahim. He said that on Jan. 3, Abrahim called him and told him the RAV4 was repaired, including an axle replacement. Jiminez told police he refused to pay an $800 charge Abrahim wanted because he did not authorize the extra work.

The complaint states Abrahim withheld the vehicle because Jiminez would not pay the bill.

In his affidavit, Varkanis said Jiminez later learned from Endurance Warranty, which guaranteed the transmission work, that the work orders authorizing the repairs contained forged signatures that he never signed.

Varkanis said that in his investigation he searched Better Business Bureau records, which revealed multiple similar complaints against 611 Transmission over three years, citing unauthorized repairs and poor communication. The business holds an F rating, the detective said.

Varkanis said during an April 4 interview with Abrahim that the man admitted he did not get Jiminez’s approval for the axle repair work, and claimed he only communicated with Endurance.

He told authorities that a former employee, “Frank,” signed Jiminez’s name on the work orders.

The detective said he checked with Endurance and a company representative confirmed no repairs are confirmed without customer approval. A company representative said that Endurance does not allow businesses to sign on behalf of customers.

On April 24, in a second interview, Varkanis said Abrahim confessed that he forged Jiminez’s signature himself, had the repair work done and expected Jiminez to pay the difference without first contacting him.