A dozen employees at a Nissan dealership in Shelby, NC, are collectively facing more than 400 charges following a state department of transportation investigation into their used vehicle sales practices.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is charging the employees with failure to inspect vehicles prior to being offered for sale, failure to deliver title, failure to disclose damage, improper use of temporary markers, making false statements about date of sale, and more.
The investigation was launched after the agency started looking into the process used by the dealership to rebuild the titles of salvage vehicles, but was expended after investigators found more evidence.
Sam Kazran, the dealership’s former general manager, faces 110 counts of failure to inspect vehicle prior to being offered for sale. However, he told WBTV that since he is “not a technician or license(d) to inspect motor vehicles,” the specific rule on which the charges are based does not apply to him.
Some customers said they’re pleased charges are being filed against dealer employees. Lucinda Ross told QC News she is “relieved, but I am still concerned about what happened to me and possibly other people.”
She traded in a vehicle for a used 2021 Nissan Rogue Sport. She claimed six months after the trade, the dealership called her in to tell her she owed them money. She called her finance company, who told her she did not have to pay more money.
In addition, she claimed her crossover had issues the dealership refused to fix. WBTV reported its investigation found dealer employees sold totaled and flooded vehicles to unsuspecting customers.
Martin Del Castillo, COO of Auto Gallery, which owns Nissan of Shelby, said accusations against its current and former employees are incorrect and will be dismissed.
“I can tell you that we’ve gone through all of the records along with DMV and we have signatures in every one of the documents where it has been disclosed, when it was a flood vehicle or any type of vehicle, it was signed by the customer,” Castillo said.
On Aug. 15, the same day the charges were publicized by the North Carolina DOT, Nissan of Shelby’s new general manager, George Ewing, told customers who had questions to reach out to him personally.
Customers who would prefer to reach out to authorities can do so through the DMV License and Theft Bureau by calling 828-782-9640.
