A state investigation released today into the sales of cars to Ohio State athletes or their families found no wrongdoing on the parts of two car dealers who sold the vehicles.
Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A state investigation released today into the sales of cars to Ohio State athletes or their families found no wrongdoing by two car dealers who sold the vehicles.
The report by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles found the dealerships made money on 24 of 25 sales that took place between 2006 and 2010; the other car had been sitting on the lot for more than 150 days. The investigation came amid the scandal at Ohio State that saw coach Jim Tressel resign and star quarterback Terrelle Pryor bolt for the NFL.
"Today's report from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles supports the sworn statements two Columbus auto dealers provided us that the manner in which they conducted sales with Ohio State student athletes and their families adhered to university and NCAA rules," said Doug Archie, Ohio State's compliance chief.
The investigation stemmed from a May 9 story in the Columbus Dispatch that reported several OSU athletes and their relatives had bought used cars from Jack Maxton Chevrolet and Auto Direct during the past five years. The story also said that Aaron Kniffin, a former salesman at the dealerships, had been involved in most of those sales.
State investigators checked each of the transactions, reviewing the dealers' sales files, certificates of title, power of attorney forms and records pertaining to prior ownerships, according to the report.
The investigators also reviewed proprietary business records from the dealerships that showed the wholesale prices that both dealerships paid for the cars they sold to OSU athletes and their families, the report said.
Those records indicated that Auto Direct made money on all 10 cars sold and that none of the buyers paid wholesale price or less, the report said. Jack Maxton made money on 14 of the 15 cars it sold to the athletes or their families. According to the report, the only car that the dealer lost money on had been sitting on its lot for more than 150 days.
The report said that during the course of the investigation, allegations had been made that some of the purchase agreements signed by Ohio State players or their family members didn't reflect the true cost because the athletes provided the dealers with tickets or sports memorabilia in exchange for cash.
"We found no evidence in the dealers' business records that tickets and/or sports memorabilia were included in the sales, and the dealers and their legal counsel contend that the allegations are false," the report said.
Kniffin, in an interview with The Plain Dealer earlier this month, denied wrongdoing.
"If you're a salesman, you don't make decisions," Kniffin said. "I couldn't approve a deal. There were layers of management that deals had to go through. ... [The media] have made it sound like people came to me, and we went back to some secret room. That's just not the case."
Source: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/06/state_bmv_finds_no_wrongdoing.html
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