Florida AG cracks down on auto loan fraud
The Florida Attorney General’s office has announced a settlement with now-defunct Riverside Chevrolet and its former owner, Andrew Ferguson, for selling consumers vehicles with outstanding liens from August 2017 to April 2018. The settlement carries a price tag of $1.2 million, according to an agency release.
“We are shifting into high gear to protect Florida drivers from all types of automotive fraud,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said at a press conference in Tallahassee yesterday.
In addition to selling consumers vehicles with outstanding liens, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Riverside Chevrolet failed to pay off liens on cars that had been traded in a timely manner, the complaint said, which often resulted in lenders’ invoicing the wrong customers, fruitless attempts at repossession and incorrect reporting to credit bureaus. Many of the consumers involved were senior citizens and members of the armed forces, the release said.
Riverside Chevrolet will pay $1.2 million in restitution, $235,000 in civil penalties to the state — with $58,000 of those penalties imposed for involving senior citizens — and $15,000 in lawyer fees. The settlement also bars Ferguson from owning, operating or managing an automobile dealership in Florida.
The dealership is currently operating under new management under the name Beaver Chevrolet.
The enforcement action comes in conjunction with the announcement of a joint, weeklong campaign between the attorney general’s office and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, called #SteerClearofFraudOAG, aimed to warn Florida drivers about various types of automotive fraud.
“All week long we will be reaching out to drivers via social media to let them know how to avoid automotive fraud and what to do if they fall victim to deceptive practices,” Moody said.
All week long, we will be reaching out directly to drivers with the help of @FLHSMV via social media to share helpful tips with the hashtag #SteerClearOfFraudOAG.https://t.co/gK0vGtNp3Q pic.twitter.com/04OIK9YuAE
— Fla. AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) August 5, 2019
