Category Archives: Midwest

Former Car Dealer Gets Shock Incarceration for Altering Odometers

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield car dealer was sentenced Wednesday for rolling back the mileage on cars he sold. Ashley Bolton, who owned Excel Auto Group, must serve 30 days in shock-incarceration at the Greene County Jail, along with five years of supervised probation. This shock-incarceration comes as part of a suspended sentence of four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. If Bolton does not finish the shock-incarceration program, he will be moved to the Missouri Department of Corrections to serve the four-year prison sentence. Bolton is also banned form working as or for a licensed automobile dealer and must provide restitution to consumers. The amount of restitution will be decided during a hearing on March 10. In 2013, Attorney General Chris Koster charged Bolton with two felony counts of unlawful merchandising practices. He pleaded guilty in September 2014. An investigation by Koster’s office and other organizations revealed Bolton misrepresented the actual mileage of vehicles being offered for sale by Excel Auto Group in 2011 and 2012. According to Koster, in one case, Bolton bought a car with more than 180,000 miles then sold it representing it had only 99,000 miles. In another, Bolton bought a car with nearly 220,000 miles then sold it less than a month later with an odometer reading of 119,000 miles. Consumers who suspect odometer fraud should call the Missouri Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-392-8222 or file a complaint on the website. Orginial Artice: http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/d/story/former-car-dealer-gets-shock-incarceration/36986/LzW6CM8hlUKNh_Vwu9d_4Q

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(Grand Rapids) Target 8: Odometer rollback revealed

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Marc Libants was attached to his old Honda Civic. He even refers to the 1997 four-door as a ‘she.’ He said it wasn’t easy giving her up, but he had no need for the old car anymore, so he sold it. Two days later, he spotted the Civic up for sale online. He knew it was his because it was missing the Honda insignia due to a previous incident. It also listed the phone number of the person to whom he had sold the car. “I got a little suspicious and as I read the ad, it said that the car had 127,000 miles on it and that kind of made some alarm bells go off,” said Libants. He said that wouldn’t be possible “unless he drove it in reverse for a long, long ways.” Target 8 has warned consumers about people rolling back odometers so they can jack up the price of old cars. When Libants saw the ad, he said, the car was being sold for $3,000. He had just sold it for only $800. Target 8 called the number on the ad and an undercover investigator met Antonio Lopez at the car in Grand Rapids. Lopez confirmed he was selling the car for $3000 because it had “no rust, good tires, brakes, clutch,” and he referenced the mileage. The undercover buyer told Lopez she was recording with her cellphone, but Lopez didn’t realize he was talking to a Target 8 investigator. When asked about the mileage, Lopez said, “Only 126,000 miles. Close to 127,000. And the engine always kept clean.” That’s nowhere near the mileage CarFax showed when Target 8 ran the Civic’s vehicle identification number (VIN). And the car’s previous owner, Marc Libants, had a receipt from an old repair at Fox Honda … Continue Reading

Lebanon Car Dealer Indicted For Fraudulent Titles, Falsified Mileage On Dozens Of Vehicles

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Nick Humphrey FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 5, 2014 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Lebanon, Mo., automobile dealer has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a mail fraud scheme in which he sold dozens of vehicles with fraudulent titles that greatly underreported the actual mileage of the vehicles. Kenneth W. Smith, 60, of Lebanon, was charged in a seven-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Aug. 26, 2014. That indictment has been unsealed and made public upon Smith’s arrest and initial court appearance. Smith operates Cars Unlimited in Lebanon. According to today’s indictment, Smith obtained fraudulent replacement titles for dozens of vehicles that were sold by Cars Unlimited between February 2010 and Nov. 7, 2011. Smith (operating through Cars Unlimited) allegedly applied for and received 54 replacement titles from the state of Missouri, each of which underreported the vehicle’s actual mileage between 95,000 and 209,000 miles. Smith allegedly resold these 54 vehicles at auto auctions using the fraudulent replacement titles. These 54 vehicles were sold for an aggregate total of approximately $346,450. Beginning in February 2010, when Smith purchased vehicles (through Cars Unlimited) at auto auctions, the vehicle titles he received showed each vehicle’s actual mileage. After purchasing a vehicle, Smith allegedly submitted an “Application for Missouri Title and License” seeking a replacement title for the vehicle. Although he sought a replacement title, the indictment says, he in fact possessed the original title for the vehicle. In each of those instances, Smith allegedly forged the signatures of the previous owner of the vehicle. The state of Missouri prepared a replacement title that was mailed to Smith at Cars Unlimited. The federal indictment charges Smith with seven counts of mail … Continue Reading

Effort in Colorado legislature would expand car salvage titles

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In addition to washing away homes, roads and bridges, the September floods that blanketed some parts of the state also destroyed sedans, minivans and pickup trucks. And those refurbished vehicles could easily be sold to consumers unaware of the prior damage because of a loophole in Colorado law that legislators at the Capitol are working to amend. Under current law, a vehicle more than six model years old that is considered totaled by an insurance company can avoid being labeled a “salvage vehicle,” making it easier to resell once fixed. The “salvage” title means the cost of repairing the vehicle exceeds its overall worth. Older vehicles, which are more likely to be deemed salvage, aren’t subject to that classification in Colorado. House Bill 1299, which the Senate Transportation Committee approved Tuesday night, would repeal the vehicle-age requirement so that the vehicle, no matter how old, would carry the salvage designation after insurers make a “total” payout. “It’s really a matter of helping to protect the consumers who are buying cars that are damaged. On the surface they look OK, the title is clean, but the car has gone through extensive repairs that will likely not keep it running,” said John Medved, who owns five car dealerships across the state and who backs the proposed measure. Because of the state’s more lenient salvage laws, flood-damaged cars from areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy have made their way to Colorado for clean titles, say proponents of the measure, which include groups such as the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association and the Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association. A dozen states exempt older cars from the salvage designation, and Colorado has the earliest age, said Howard Nusbaum, administrator of the National Salvage Vehicle Reporting Program in Stamford, Conn. Moreover, Nusbaum said, the average age of cars … Continue Reading

Mishawaka car dealer charged with odometer fraud

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A Mishawaka car dealer is arrested and accused of rolling back the odometers. Adame Scott, 28, was arrested on Wednesday and charged Thursday with two counts of odometer fraud. His mechanic told police he was ordered to roll back the odometers. A day after the search warrant was executed Scott’s Auto Sales was closed. Police seized several odometers, five cars and paperwork with customer names to hopefully contact other victims. It’s been in business for about a year. Police started getting several complaints about the business. Lieutant Regis Thimons from the St. Joseph County Police says, “The biggest concern we have as police officers is the danger that it puts the public in, when they are driving a vehicle that has only been road worthy for 80 thousand miles when it is actually been on the road 252 thousand, that’s a big discrepancy.” One woman says she bought a Chevy Impala in April. She says she paid 45-hundred dollars for the Impala that had 80 thousand miles. After doing some digging she found out it was actually scrapped for 400 hundred dollars with 250 some thousand miles. Police don’t know how many cars were sold with the incorrect odometer readings so they are asking people to call them. You can call St. Joseph County Police at (574) 217 – 5150. Original Article: http://www.wndu.com/news/headlines/Mishawaka-car-dealer-charged-with-odometer-fraud-215154871.html?ref=871

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Mercedes-Benz pays $260k in Wis. lemon law case

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Mercedes-Benz USA LLC has paid out another $260,000 in a long-running lemon law case. Attorney Vince Megna sued the company in 2005 on behalf of a Waukesha businessman who purchased a defective sedan. The state Supreme Court last year upheld a $482,000 judgment against the company. Megna argued the company owed interest that had accrued during the case’s court journey and Mercedes-Benz paid $618,000. On Tuesday a Waukesha County judge ordered the company to pay attorney fees and costs totaling $259,536. The company cut a check dated the same day. Wisconsin’s lemon law allows consumers who win civil lawsuits to be awarded twice the amount of monetary losses, along with costs and attorney fees. Republican legislators have introduced a bill that would cap damages at actual loss. Original Article: http://www.news8000.com/news/mercedesbenz-pays-260k-in-wis-lemon-law-case/-/326/20666828/-/116nbj7/-/index.html

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Janesville Odometer Tampering A Janesville man faces multiple criminal charges for allegedly rolling back car odometers and then selling those vehicles. 60-year-old Jeff Hagen of “Jeff’s Auto Body” has been charged with 1 count of felony theft by swindle as well as 3 gross misdemeanor counts for reportedly tampering with car odometers to falsely increase vehicle value. Hagen denies the allegations, and is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court on November 27th. He faces up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Original article: http://www.knuj.net/2012/10/janesville-odometer-tampering/

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Family Motors faces legal trouble Co-owners face several charges, will appear in court Tuesday.

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WEST BURLINGTON – A used vehicle dealership is in legal trouble after an Iowa Department of Transportation inquiry resulted in 14 simple and aggravated misdemeanor charges against two of the owners. Jon Salvador, a co-owner of Family Motors, 1013 W. Agency Road, is charged with seven simple misdemeanors and five aggravated misdemeanors, ranging from the sale of vehicles without titles to failure to maintain odometer records, according to Maj. Paul Steier of the IDOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division. The other owner, Dan Wenig, also is charged with failure to maintain odometer records and failure to take possession of five vehicle titles prior to sale, an aggravated misdemeanor and a simple misdemeanor, respectively. Salvador and Wenig will make separate initial appearances at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, Tuesday in Des Moines County Associate Court. The brothers-in-law and their wives co-own the business, hence its name, though neither of the women face charges after the IDOT investigation. Wenig declined to comment, but Salvador denied he did anything illegal and is confident he will be cleared in court. “A lot of those infractions and citations are just trumped up, ridiculous, clerical errors. Not a big deal,” he said. Of Salvador’s simple misdemeanor charges, two are for improper issuance of “Registration Applied For” cards to vehicle purchasers who did not pay the requisite tax and fees associated with the card. The cards are issued to purchasers who do not have plates for their vehicles at the time of purchase. “(Dealers) can only issue those if they collect the tax, title and license fee,” Steier said, adding depending on the circumstances and number of occurrences, IDOT can regard such breaches of protocol as fairly serious offenses. “The dealer fills it out, so it’s kind of an honor system that the dealer is doing it … Continue Reading

Probe of dealer who sold cars with rolled-back odometers brings more complaints from customers

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Excel Auto Group LLC is still under investigation by the state while a lawsuit against it works its way through a Greene County circuit court. Documents from the Missouri Secretary of State’s office show Ashley Bolton, the owner of Excel Auto Group, has also operated under B&B Motors. Scores of people continue to call and e-mail saying they too have found out their odometers have been tampered with. You can go to AutoCheck.com or Carfax.com and run your own check to see if you have been a victim. If you have, you can file a report with the Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-392-8222. If you want to speak with someone in Springfield, you can call the Missouri Department of Revenue at (417) 895-6429. The Attorney General’s Office is busy with the civil investigation into Bolton. No one has said if there’s a criminal investigation of Bolton or Excel Auto Group. Original article: http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-excell-new-details-in-the-investigation-of-springfield-car-dealership-that-was-allegedly-rolling-back-odometers-20120619,0,1026542.story

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Ind. AG files suits on behalf of Lake County residents

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BY BRYAN COHEN HOBART, Ind. (Legal Newsline) – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed five lawsuits on Monday on issues ranging from car dealer violations to illegal foreclosure consultants to protect Lake County residents. Hometown Motors and Luke’s Family Motors allegedly took advantage of consumers by violating the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, state and federal odometer acts and the Indiana Automotive Unfair Practices Act. Two Florida-based foreclosure consultants, Josegan Inc. and First Financial Link LLC, allegedly ripped off two Lake County residents of $3,500 by promising to reduce the homeowners’ interest rates or monthly payments in exchange for a fee upfront. The Vacation Store and its owner allegedly took payments for travel packages and failed to deliver payments to resorts for the accommodations purchased. “The attorney general’s office in Lake County is committed to protecting consumers here in the region,” Zoeller said. “These lawsuits represent only a slice of what our Consumer Protection Division and Homeowner Protection Unit do on a daily basis. It’s important to know that our office listened to local consumers and will use every resource available to pursue violators of the law.” Hometown Motors and John F. Petrassi, the company’s owner, allegedly failed to provide titles to purchased vehicles and knowingly reported inaccurate years and mileage on a used vehicle. Luke’s Family Motors allegedly misrepresented the mileage of a used vehicle and violated the terms of a previous settlement with Zoeller’s office to return excess fees for document preparation to customers. Zoeller’s lawsuits seek civil penalties and restitution in both auto-related matters. First Financial Link and Josegan allegedly requested that consumers make payments that ranged from $1,500 to $2,000 for foreclosure prevention. Consumers eventually realized that little to no progress was made on their loans. The lawsuits against the two companies allege that the defendants violated … Continue Reading