CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Employees of a longtime area auto dealer have been accused of falsifying loans for more than five years. According to court documents obtained by The Charlotte Observer, the crimes include creating false employment and tax documents, and fake down payment checks, inflating customers’ incomes and increasing the loan values of vehicles.
Louis F. Harrelson, who has owned dealerships for 35 years, said he had been unaware of any wrongdoing by employees. After an internal investigation prompted by the FBI’s seizure of documents in June, Harrelson’s company fired seven employees, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The FBI affidavit named 15 current and former Harrelson employees. Also included was an employee at a Charlotte tax firm accused of creating false documents used by employees. Harrelson has promised to reimburse lenders.
The FBI isn't looking only at Harrelson's dealerships. Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Charlotte-area car dealer James Keating and 30 employees on charges of conspiring to falsify documents to qualify buyers for car loans totaling up to $15 million. Keating owned the Five Star, South Boulevard and Monroe auto malls.
