Suit: Scamming Car Dealer Tried to Run Over Buyer

That's just one detail in this crazy New York lawsuit
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 18, 2013 10:07 AM CDT
Suit: Scamming Car Dealer Tried to Run Over Buyer
In this Feb. 1, 2013 photo, a couple looks at the price of a new vehicle at a Volkswagen salesroom in Caracas, Venezuela.   (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Something wacky went down at the New York Motor Group, according to a lawsuit that claims a Queens man was conned, nearly run over, and even threatened with divorce by the dealership's owner and employees. It's a crazy tale packed with an "escalating series of insane events," the Village Voice reports.

  • Shahdat Tuhin bought a car for what he thought was the discounted price of $13,995, and left $2,000 as down payment. Two days later, he met with the finance manager—who apparently went by John, Jay, and Julio—but the man's "software did not let him print" the contract terms. He asked Tuhin to sign a blank contract; Tuhin refused.

  • Tuhin next saw that the car had new body damage and said he wanted out of the deal. Told he'd have to pay 35% of the purchase price anyway, he agreed to sign a cheaper, $12,000 contract. But the man "obscured the paper so that he could not see the areas surrounding his signatures," according to the suit. When he tried to read it, "John" snapped, "Don't touch."
  • The contract was actually a buyer's order for $22,795, the suit says. A retail installment contract charged him $26,000, plus $5,000 in fees.
  • When he went back with the intention of returning the car, a sales rep said, per the suit, "that among the myriad papers he was pressured into signing without reading were divorce papers, and that they would file for divorce on his behalf if he bothered them again."
  • While staging a "peaceful" protest at the lot, Tuhin claims the owner then tried to run him over, while an employee sprayed him with a hose he was using to wash cars.
  • Tuhin parked the car back at the lot and surrendered his plates to the DMV. That night, employees parked the car next to a fire hydrant near Tuhin's home, the suit alleges, and gave the keys to Tuhin's daughter, 9.
Tuhin is suing for fraud, breach of contract, and several other violations, while owner Mamdoh Eltouby faces assault charges. For more crazy details and a look at the suit, click here. (More dumb criminals stories.)

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