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  • Honor Bank commercial lender Pamm Laing, left, and senior loan processor Faith Bott check cars at Platte Valley Auto Sales Thursday before they are taken away from the Honor dealership, which is under investigation for fraud, to figure out ownership and lien priority. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

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September 14, 2012

Investigators: Probable fraud at dealership

BY ART BUKOWSKI abukowski@record-eagle.com

HONOR — Dozens of vehicles are in court-ordered limbo as authorities wade through a convoluted fraud investigation at a Benzie County car dealership.

Investigators believe multiple improprieties — some of them possibly criminal — occurred at Platte Valley Auto Sales in Honor. Benzie Circuit Judge James M. Batzer recently ordered the dealership's assets frozen as multiple banks and the Benzie County Sheriff's Department sort through the mess.

"This is a nightmare. I couldn't dream up a situation that could be more screwed up," Detective Sgt. Troy Lamerson said. "The more layers of the onion you peel back, the more you find."

Dealership owner Dave Purchase couldn't be reached for comment. His attorney, A. Brooks Darling, did not return a call for comment.

Lamerson said it appears Purchase used lines of credit to secure money from two financial institutions for a single vehicle, a scheme known as "double-flooring." Investigators uncovered what appears to be about 45 double-floored vehicles so far, Lamerson said.

"That's illegal all by itself," he said. "Two different banks then thought they owned them, basically."

Some of the double-floored vehicles also were given to Purchase to sell on consignment, Lamerson said. No triple-floored vehicles have been found, though it's possible because the dealership was working with three financial institutions, Lamerson said.

Some people who purchased vehicles from Platte Valley also are having trouble getting their license plates and titles from the Michigan Secretary of State's office. Lamerson said that's because the dealership failed to complete appropriate paperwork.

Sheriff's officials seized about 70 vehicles that soon will be moved to a "secure" location off U.S. 31 in Benzonia, Lamerson said. Vehicles will remain there pending civil and criminal actions, though Lamerson said Batzer authorized the release of vehicles that all parties agree should go to a certain owner.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Benzie County Sheriff's Department at (231) 882-4494. Those having trouble with their title and plates after purchasing a vehicle from Platte Valley are told to call Secretary of State representative Gil Ramirez at (989) 345-6568.

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