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thedrifter
04-24-04, 05:41 PM
Virginia board investigating car dealer suspected of soliciting, extorting Marines

By SONJA BARISIC
Associated Press Writer

Last update: 24 April 2004


NORFOLK, Va. -- State regulators are looking into allegations that a Virginia used car dealership pressured young North Carolina service members into buying overpriced cars by offering them rides to the lot and then threatening to strand them there, hours away from base.

Three field staffers from the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board spent Thursday at Carland, searching the York County dealership's records for evidence of fraudulent and deceptive practices and violations of Virginia law.

A preliminary look at the paperwork indicates there is enough evidence to hold a hearing that could result in penalties ranging from a warning to revocation of the dealer's license and fines if the allegations are proven, Bruce Gould, the board's executive director, said Friday.

However, the board first hopes to meet with Carland owner Ronnie Neff next week to "see what he says and see if there is some way we can make things right," Gould said. "We try to make people whole."

Neff did not return repeated messages seeking comment left at the dealership Thursday and Friday by The Associated Press. Dealership employees said Neff was out of town on business until next week but had been given his messages.

But a Marine legal assistance lawyer representing two 19-year-old privates at Camp Lejeune who bought cars from Carland said Neff called him Friday afternoon and proposed meeting soon to work something out.

"I hope he's sincere," said 1st Lt. Lee Kindlon, who said his earlier efforts to work with Carland went nowhere. "It's a shame it had to take a state action for him to realize I was serious."

Separately, a North Carolina congressman who said two "distraught" Marines -- Kindlon's clients -- at Camp Lejeune had approached him about Carland has called for state and federal officials to investigate the Virginia dealer and others.

"If they're scheming at Camp Lejeune, they're probably at Seymour Johnson, Cherry Point and Fort Bragg as well. They must be stopped," U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones said in a statement.

Gould said people from Camp Lejeune and the Army's Fort Bragg contacted the board independently about Carland last week.

"We got some information that they were doing some things that at least most people would think were ethically and morally incorrect," Gould said.

The board met Monday with representatives from both bases and decided to audit Carland, which has been in business since 1991, Gould said.

Ten years ago, there was a sting operation at a number of car dealerships in southeastern Virginia that sold to military personnel, he said. Carland was not part of that.

"I'm not surprised old tricks surface," Gould said. "You have these very young men and women, 19, 20 years old, first time away from home, money in their pocket ... You could see how these young people are fairly easy marks."

Gould did not know how many total service members have complained about Carland. "We don't think it's all that high," he said.

Gould said the board did handle a similar complaint against Carland from another service member "not too long ago." He did not have all the details but said the board contacted Neff, the dealer took the car back and the customer was satisfied.

Carland is on Camp Lejeune's list of "off-limits establishments," but some Marines are solicited to call a toll-free number left on business cards distributed near the base.

"You get these young Marines and they call and say, 'I need a car,' and Carland says, 'we'll come get you,"' Kindlon said. "They don't know where Carland is."

A van shows up and "they are told, when they're well away from base, 'Sit back, it's going to be about 3 1/2 hours,"' Kindlon said. "Usually it happens on a Saturday afternoon. You get up there, it's 8 o'clock on a Saturday night."

"In one case, a Marine said 'I don't want to buy one of these cars,' and Carland said they don't know when the shuttle will go back to Camp Lejeune," Kindlon said.

Kindlon said his clients dealt with Carland on separate occasions late last year and early this year. Kindlon declined to give their names or let a reporter speak with them.

One bought a 1997 Honda Civic with 80,000 miles on it and a book value of $4,000. Kindlon said the Marine didn't get a copy of the contract but, based on his monthly payments, it is estimated he will pay a total of $23,000 for the car.

The other paid $17,900 for a 2000 Dodge Intrepid with more than 63,000 miles on it and a book value of about $8,000, Kindlon said. That contract has "random sums" on it, including $2,600 designated as "other," Kindlon said.

The car broke down along the highway when the Marine was driving home to visit his parents for Easter.

Records indicate that one reason the final price of the cars may have been so high is that the servicemen bought lots of different types of insurance, Gould said, including gap insurance that would keep up the payments if the owner dies.

"We need to talk to these guys to find out if they knew they were buying this" and other optional items, Gould said.

The board wants to talk to the service members about the shuttle rides to the dealership and alleged threats of stranding.

"If the consumer thought they were doing one thing and the dealer did something else, that's deceptive," Gould said.

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Associated Press writer Estes Thompson in Raleigh contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Virginia Motor Vehicle Dealer Board: http://mvdb.vipnet.org/home.html


http://www.n-jcenter.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Noteworthy/03NewsNOTE04042404.htm


Ellie