The following is a story from the Associated Press.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida Chevrolet dealership has paid $1.2 million in retribution and owes a civil penalty after an investigation found outstanding loans on customers' trade-ins weren't paid off.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced the consent judgment against former Riverside Chevrolet owner Andrew Ferguson Jr. in Jacksonville Monday during the kickoff of a campaign warning Floridians about automotive fraud.
Moody's office says Ferguson won't be allowed to own, operate or manage a car or truck dealership in Florida.
Florida?s top prosecutor is coming down hard against the former owners of a Jacksonville Chevrolet dealership ? charging them nearly $1.5 million in restitution, fines and fees. https://t.co/V9SZULJjIj
— News4JAX (@wjxt4) August 6, 2019
The investigation began after a number of customer complaints about the dealership, which failed to pay liens on cars traded in by 71 customers.
The investigation found Riverside began suffering business losses in 2017 and fell $400,000 behind in state sales tax.
Beaver Chevrolet took over in 2018 and paid the outstanding liens.
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