Lawyers Say Jones Unaware of Auto Sales Problems

Steve Jones Honda on U.S. 15-501 in Aberdeen. Photo by Glenn Sides.

As of Friday, March 15, 2013

Attorneys for Steve Jones, the auto dealer accused by the Division of Motor Vehicles of improper sales, say their client has been "primarily a figurehead" for the dealership for the past several years and that he had no active role due to ongoing medical issues.

Steve Jones

"As many of you who know Steve are aware, he has suffered from cognitive impairments resulting from the excessive mold exposure. One of Steve's treating physicians at Duke has rendered a medical opinion that Steve Jones is not capable of performing the general manager functions at his dealership," reads a statement issued by Jones' attorneys at Van Camp, Meacham and Newman in Pinehurst.

Attorneys for Jones appeared in court Thursday, and a probable cause hearing was scheduled for April 3.

The law firm's statement says the North Carolina Industrial Commission and the North Carolina Court of Appeals have concluded that Jones is "totally disabled from employment."

Steve Jones, the owner of Steve Jones Honda in Aberdeen, was arrested on Feb. 28 and charged with more than 160 counts relating to improperly selling vehicles, including 86 felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense. He is also charged with 77 misdemeanor charges of temporary marker violations and failure to deliver a vehicle title.

The charges stem from complaints lodged with the DMV from people who bought cars from the dealership.

Jones' attorneys said in the statement that a general manager was hired in March 2012 to run the dealership.

"His authority was complete," the statement says of the general manager. "Steve took no part in the management and operation of Steve Jones Honda."

Art Allen is the general manager of the dealership. When contacted about the statements and asked for a comment, Allen said his attorneys have told him not to discuss the matter.

The statement goes on to say the general manager fired the dealership's title manager last June. That title manager was certified by the DMV and authorized to collect the $59 application fee. When he was terminated, the new title manager was not certified and had no authority to collect the $59 fee. The computer program still had the collection fee included until September 18, 2012, when the error was discovered and the dealership immediately stopped charging the $59.

"Steve did not have any personal knowledge of this issue, directly or indirectly," the statement reads.

The total amount collected by the incorrect application fee was approximately $4,450.

State authorities investigating the case seized multiple files of car sales and trades, temporary marker books, payment records and other paperwork, according to a search warrant that was served on Feb. 28.

The warrant indicates that the DMV investigators "substantiated approximately 362 violations in 179 files." Approximately 70 of these violations are for charging customers a $59 electronic filing fee for work they did not process, but that was processed by the License Plate Agency, the warrant says.

The search warrant says that between Jan. 1, 2012, and Feb. 27, 2013, Steve Jones Honda sold numerous cars to consumers and alleges that the dealership committed violations such as obtaining property by false pretense, temporary marker violations and failure to deliver a title.

The warrant indicates that obtaining property by false pretense occurred when Steve Jones Honda sold trade-in vehicles to a new purchaser before satisfying outstanding liens and obtaining clear titles, which negatively affected the customer'-s credit.

The statement addressed the issues with the titles, saying that "most if not all were corrected and resolved," and that Jones had "no knowledge of the title issue."

Representatives from the DMV have said that the investigation is ongoing and could be lengthy.

"They are still investigating fielding complaints and trying to get individual titles clear," said Marge Howell, a spokesperson for the DMV. "It is a lengthy process and they anticipate at least a couple more months of work."

Attorneys for Jones said in the statement that the DMV has never interviewed him about any of the allegations.

The statement also says Jones, who has owned the dealership for 15 years, is working to resolve all issues as soon as possible.

"To the extent that any customer of Steve Jones Honda has not received any title or document for which they are entitled, Mr. Jones will make sure that these matters are resolved promptly. To the extent that any customer was inadvertently charged $59 in connection with their transaction, these customers will be reimbursed the fee."

Anyone who thinks they might be affected by questionable transactions with Steve Jones Honda are asked to contact Moore County's DMV License and Theft Bureau at (910) 944-3628 or (910) 944-3624. They are asked to call between 8-10 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Contact Tom Embrey at (910) 693-2484 or tembrey @thepilot.com.

More like this story

Toda 2 months ago

"Jones cited health concerns and a desire to spend more time with his family as reasons for selling to Pinehurst Auto Group. For six years Jones has battled debilitating illness that has diminished his ability to breathe due to lung damage caused by mold exposure." Comment written in an April 5 2007 article.

Perhaps DMV may focus more on Art Allen in this case than Steve.

rightwingpatriot 2 months ago

steve jones is the boss correct? his name is on the business correct? then he should know what his managers and sales reps are doing. I agree he may not have been the one to directly commit the crime but he should still take some of the blame. If he cant do the job then sale the dealership

Areyouforreal 2 months ago

@rightwingpatriot - I can't agree with you more. He might not be the one making the actual deal but he should be well aware of what is taking place in HIS dealership. Think it is time for Mr. Jones to hit the road.

herecomesthescience 2 months ago

Another agree on the fact that Jones should have left the dealership, or at least taken his name off the business and became a silent partner at the very least. I just bought a brand new Honda elsewhere (the sales guy here laughed at my offer and was clueless on the facts about the car, another dealer gave me a price lower than my offer to Jones) and now I am very nervous to take it to Jones for service. They need to really re-examine their business model and do something to regain the trust of the area. There has always been scuttlebutt about problems in both sales and service there. It seems clear that nobody wants to be in charge or at least take responsibility for what the big picture is for that dealership.

Areyouforreal 2 months ago

@herecomesthescience - I personally have my Honda serviced at Steve Jones and am very pleased with the professionalism and quality of work the service department has always provided. I don't feel the service department should suffer because of wrong doings within the sales department. I would highly recommend their service department any day of the week!

herecomesthescience 2 months ago

Thanks for the heads up on the service dept! I had one bad experience with them a couple of years ago hopefully they have gotten better.

njc17 2 months ago

Aren't you folks just wonderful. Why don't you call for the whipping post. The problem as I see it is typical for many areas, The people one hires are so little trustworthy. There seems to be no management level skills, and I have seen one there I would trust. Sadly for Steve, he did trust. And now you all want his head. He trusted the builder to build his building, and when they screwed that up he trusted them to fix the problems, and they screwed that up, and he got sick with incurable lethal mold sickness, and he trusts others to run the business, and they screw that up.

dentman65 2 months ago

He may have been too sickly to know everything that was happening, but ultimately if the dealership license bears his name than he gets the blame. I used to be a used car dealer and that is how it works. If it is a partnership or LLC, it may change things. As the owner of my business I tote the note for everything my employees do. I may not have been the one that put on the wheel, but if it falls off I am the one that gets sued, not the employee. DMV is tough on this and they don't play around in N.C. , at least they did not when I had my dealer's license. All of the salesmen there are licensed under the main license holder, whomever that may be, and listed on the paperwork that should be posted somewhere in the office. I'd hate to be in his shoes because every count may result in a felony if convicted. A new license would just have to be issued to someone else so the dealership can remain open, though they may be on probation. All of that would have to be approved by NCDMV at the hearing. If convicted they may have to refund the prices of the cars if the customer pushes it legally. There are some cases I believe when a dealer has to purchase back the car at 2 to 3 times what the customer paid for it. I'll have to look it up on the NCDMV dealers website and investigate it further.

areyoukidding 2 months ago

I agree 100% with areyouforreal - I have my car serviced at Steve Jones, and have for many years and have always been completely satisified with the work done by the service department and the curteous / professiohnal staff. The guys in the service department have absolutely nothing to do with sales or paperwork so LEAVE THEM ALONE! They are a good group guys working to support their families. And yes, I agree Mr. Jones may not have been involved in the day to day running but since his name was still on the business he should have been aware of what was going on.

herecomesthescience 2 months ago

ncj17, what I am saying is that if he was truly out of the loop in managing his business, he needed to step away and take his name off the building. Why in the world would you release control of your business to let others run it yet still be a "figurehead", then be shocked when you are called to be responsible? If he is unable to run it, he should be a silent partner and let somebody able to take control and responsibility do so. At the end of the day it is your responsibility for whom you hire, and you need to step away or step up and face the consequences of your decision to hire them and hand them total control. I feel for him and his family, but he would not be in this position if he had done just that...stepped away. I am glad to hear that the service group does good work, but I have to admit, knowing the lack of management overall there has led to problems like they are having still adds some doubt to going back. I am sure the techs are talented, good people, but when the business they work for has these type of issues with management and illegal activities it makes you take pause, for better or for worse. Hopefully somebody will take over at the dealership and give the service techs a better environment to work in.