WHILE HE WAS WORKING AS A GENERAL SALES MANAGER FOR MERCEDES-BENZ OF MONTEREY IN 2023, then-34-year-old Pacific Grove resident Christopher Darnell decided to branch out and start a luxury car-selling business of his own, which he called Exclusive Collection MRY LLC.
The online profile for Exclusive Collection MRY, which is still an active business according to the California Secretary of State, asserts that the company was “founded by a team of experienced professionals with a passion for the automotive industry,” and that “With a wealth of expertise in areas such as sales, marketing and operations, the team at Exclusive Collection is well-equipped to provide comprehensive support to clients across the industry.”
Roughly 2,500 miles away in Guatemala, car enthusiast Jose Andres Moreno heard about Darnell’s nascent business through a mutual friend, Eduardo Samayoa, who met Darnell at the Culver Academies High School, a boarding school in Indiana, which they both attended from 2005 to 2008, according to a lawsuit filed by Moreno against Darnell in August 2025.
The complaint alleges that in December 2023, Darnell and Moreno entered into an oral agreement for Moreno to purchase a 2024 Porsche 911 S/T, an anniversary edition based on a race-oriented sport-touring model. Only 1,963 of the vehicles were made to commemorate the first year Porsche launched the unique model.
Darnell allegedly acted as the sales agent for Exclusive Collection MRY and told Moreno that the rare sports car would be made to order. The cost would be roughly $390,000, including the $346,670 purchase price of the vehicle along with a seller’s fee of $43,333.
Darnell sent Moreno an invoice in January 2024 with all the terms and conditions of sale along with the vehicle’s specifications, including that it would be the special heritage design package with an extended-range fuel tank and painted shore blue metallic, among other specs.
According to the court documents, Darnell told Moreno that the Porsche would be delivered to him at the finale of Car Week, the Concours D’Elegance, in August 2024.
Moreno then began to make plans to travel from Guatemala to Monterey County for the iconic car show and to pick up his newly purchased Porsche 911 S/T. An agreement signed by both parties in May 2024 states, “Upon purchase, the vehicle will be transported to the Exclusive Collection’s storage facility.” The agreement, included in court filings, added, “The Exclusive Collection will provide free storage for the vehicle for up to one year.”
Storing the Porsche came at no cost to Darnell, however, because the Porsche 911 S/T, custom-built for Moreno, was never in his possession.
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THE ALLEGED SCHEME is documented in a criminal case filed against Darnell in Monterey County Superior Court in April 2025 and the August 2025 civil suit,which claims that in the months following the agreement, Moreno wired multiple payments to Darnell. He wired the first payment of $35,000 in January 2024, an additional $50,000 in May and the final payment of $276,350 on July 16, 2024. Moving toward Monterey Car Week, Darnell, Moreno and their mutual friend Samayoa were “in constant contact regarding the Porsche S/T,” court records state, with Darnell assuring Moreno that it would be delivered on time– providing status updates and forwarding Moreno photos of a vehicle he would ultimately never own.
With all signs pointing toward a done deal, Moreno flew to Monterey to attend Car Week 2024 and retrieve his Porsche. Once Moreno was on the Peninsula, Darnell allegedly broke the news to Moreno that there were complications and the car would be delivered late.
According to the lawsuit, Darnell “made questionable and highly concerning excuses,” which made Moreno suspicious of the transaction, and he began to investigate whether the deal was legitimate. Moreno soon discovered that the customized 2024 Porsche S/T only existed on paper.
When Moreno confronted Darnell, he admitted to the deception, according to the lawsuit. Darnell allegedly told Moreno that he used the money Moreno wired him for the Porsche S/T to purchase a gray 2024 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4-RS, valued at about $205,000.
To pacify Moreno, Darnell allegedly said he would transfer ownership of the GT4-RS to him and would repay Moreno the full amount he’d already transferred, for a total remuneration of $566,250. Darnell wired $34,000 to Moreno on Aug. 15, 2024, as a show of good faith that the wrong would be made right. But Moreno’s complaint states the con continued.
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ON AUG. 23, 2024, Darnell signed a written agreement that he would pay Moreno the $566,250 within 60 days or by Oct. 22, 2024, and credited the $34,000 already paid to the balance. Along with the agreement, Darnell attached an auto bill of sale document to confirm the ownership transfer of the gray GT4-RS Porsche from Darnell to Moreno. However, the lawsuit states that before the car could be physically transferred to Moreno, it was repossessed. After the wire transfer of $34,000, Darnell never made an additional payment to Moreno.
Through the civil suit, Moreno is seeking the $566,250 specified in the written agreement along with “interest to the fullest extent permitted under the law,” court costs and punitive damages of $350,000. The civil case is ongoing. The next hearing in Monterey County Superior Court is set for early September.
In the criminal case, Darnell is facing felony charges of obtaining money by false pretenses and embezzlement. Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Garcia says the case was brought about after the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office received a police report from the Pacific Grove Police Department following their investigation into the car salesman. A jury trial is tentatively slated for late September in Monterey County Superior Court.
Darnell denies each accusation in the civil suit and pled not guilty to the criminal charges. Darnell’s attorney told the Weekly that he would not comment on the pending case. Moreno also declined to comment.
Darnell was also recently sued by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services regarding an unpaid lease balance.
According to Darnell’s LinkedIn profile, he began working at Land Rover Monterey as a general sales manager in February 2024 until his employment ended in September 2025, around the time the allegations surfaced publicly. On LinkedIn, Darnell claims that he is currently a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual Monterey, where he aims “to make a significant impact in clients’ lives by preparing them for future goals and uncertainties.”