Gibson is the former owner of Joe Gibson Automotive and Joe Gibson Auto World. He operated Suzuki an

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Lewis Jones Jay Harwood is one of eight former Gibson employees named in a Grand Jury indictment issued on September 12th. According to the indictment, Harwood worked as the finance manager at Joe Gibson cheap travel to costa rica Suzuki in Spartanburg, starting in 2006. The indictment charges Harwood, Gibson, and others with three counts each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Investigators accuse them of cheating customers and lenders through fraudulent marketing, fraudulent financing, and false reporting to American Suzuki Motor Corporation.
Harwood was recently hired as Director of Bands for Blythewood High School in Richland County. According to Ken Blackstone, executive director of communications for Richland School District 2, Harwood has been suspended and placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of his legal case. According to the high school band s website, Harwood was previously the Director cheap travel to costa rica of Bands at Carolina Forest High School in Myrtle Beach, Dorman High School, Mariner (Florida) High School, and South Mecklenberg (NC) High School.
Harwood s brother, Richard J. Harwood, is also one of the former Gibson employees named in the indictment. Gibson and his co-defendants are scheduled to have their initial appearance and arraignment on Thursday at the US District Courthouse in Greenville.
Gibson and his nine co-defendants are scheduled for an initial appearance and arraignment at 1:30 p.m., on Thursday, September 27, 2012, at the Clement Haynesworth Federal Building and Courthouse in Greenville. US Attorney Bill Nettles says issues of bond, attorney representation cheap travel to costa rica and scheduling will be discussed at the hearing.
The three-count indictment, filed late Wednesday in the Spartanburg division of the US District Court, charges Gibson cheap travel to costa rica and his ex-employees with cheating customers and lenders through fraudulent marketing, fraudulent financing, and false reporting to American Suzuki Motor Corporation. A former American Suzuki employee was also indicted.
Gibson is the former owner of Joe Gibson Automotive and Joe Gibson Auto World. He operated Suzuki and Mitsubishi dealerships in Spartanburg and Gaffney. In July 2008, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after more than 500 customers filed lawsuits against him, alleging deceptive sales practices and fraudulent cheap travel to costa rica advertising. He closed his dealerships cheap travel to costa rica two weeks later.
Gibson, his insurer, American Suzuki Motors, and lenders pooled almost $3 million cheap travel to costa rica dollars as part of a bankruptcy plan to settle the lawsuits. The customers and their attorneys split most of those funds. But by then, the high-profile civil battle had drawn interest from criminal prosecutors.
cheap travel to costa rica "As soon as I saw how (Gibson) had fiddled the numbers, I got my clients' permission to turn their files over to the FBI or any authority who might be interested in this," said attorney David Alford cheap travel to costa rica who represented 87 customers in the civil case.
The FBI was interested. And so were the US Secrect Service, cheap travel to costa rica the US Postal Inspection Service, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. cheap travel to costa rica The US Attorney's Office says those agencies investigated Gibson's dealings between 2006 until August 2008.
The indictment names as defendants: Paul Michael "Joe" Gibson of Spartanburg - registered agent of Joe Gibson Automotive and Joe Gibson's cheap travel to costa rica Auto World. Billy John Mills, Jr, of Huntersville, NC - unoffical general manager of both dealerships Lewis J. Harward, Jr. of Myrtle Beach - finance manager at Joe Gibson cheap travel to costa rica Suzuki in Spartanburg Richard J. Harward - general sales manager at Joe Gibson Suzuki in Spartanburg Joshua Manuel Maldonado - sales manager at both the Spartanburg cheap travel to costa rica and Gaffney locations Lennie Wylie Sanders - sales manager and later finance cheap travel to costa rica manager at the Spartanburg location Wanda Suzette Smith - biller, bookkeeper at Joe Gibson Suzuki in Spartanburg Kathy Valentine Stewart - funder for each car sold; sought financing packages from various lenders Jillian Ventrello - handled telemarketing and mail advertising cheap travel to costa rica for Joe Gibson Brian J. Sullivan - employee of American Suzuki Motor Corporation; duties included counseling dealerships
The indictment says those nine individuals conspired to "devise a scheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money from the purchasers of automobiles cheap travel to costa rica by means of false and fraudlent pretenses, representations and promises, and for the purpose of executing such scheme utilized interestate wire communications" (specifically, deceptive and misleading radio and television ads).
The indictment also says the Gibson team induced customers to sign contracts that included a "base model price for the vehicle significantly in excess of the actual market price and/or sticker price for the vehicle". It says when customers raised questions over those prices, they were told to "totally disregard any of the numbers on the contracts because they would never be obliged to pay anything mroe than the agreed, low monthly promotional amounts".
The document also accuses the defendants of cheating lenders by using "false job and income information on various credit applications" for customers... as a result, lending cheap travel to costa rica institutions were induced to make loans based upon false, fraudulent and misleading information".
Gibson and none of the other defendants have been reached for comment at this time. A Columbia attorney who represented Gibson during the civil proceedings said he does not know where he is now or who is representing him on the criminal charges. The US Attorney's Office has not provided information on when the defendants will appear in court. Each faces a maximum of twenty years in prison if convicted.
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