Seattle dealership rips off disabled man

So you think that car salesman and dealerships have overcome their oft-deserved reputation for being sleazy? After reading this story, our semi-restored faith in the process of buying a car has been decimated.

Eleven dealership employees at the Huling Brothers dealership in West Seattle took part in an elaborate scam to take advantage of a 60-year old man with obvious mental deficiencies. When the man, soaked in his own urine, entered the dealership and told the car salesman that he had over $100K in cash in his home, the wheels of the scam machine went into full-gear and he left the dealership with an expensive truck . Needless to say, the man winds up with no money and no truck at the end of the story. Check out the details of this sad tale after the jump.

Thanks for the tip, Yvo.

[Source: KOMO TV]

The dealership in question sold the man a truck for the maximum price along with a ridiculously priced warranty as well as anything else they could add-on to the transaction, later bragging to other associates at the dealerhship about the deal. The man's truck was towed the following day, and when he called the dealership thinking it had been stolen, the salesman picked him up to take him to get his truck. While they were gone, the dealerships sales manager and five different dealership employees went to the man's apartment to steal the remaining $70K+. The sales manager and one other employee were the first two there and stole the cash, which they split and paid off personal credit cards, etc.

Oh, but they weren't finished yet. When the man's truck was towed again, he called Seattle Police and reported the missing truck as well as the disappearance of the $70K in cash. Realizing the man had mental problems, the police took him to a mental health facility in Seattle. He then called the dealership to be sure that the towing company wouldn't auction off his truck before he could pick it up. Another dealership employee then convinced the man to sell the truck to him for $1,200, and then involved several other dealership employees to help him legitimize the paperwork. That employee drove the truck as his own until the police unwound the scam.

All eleven of the dealership employees involved are currently under investigation and the dealership has been cooperating with the investigation. The dealership has also repaid the man $30,000, and the new owners, who were unaware of the pending litigation, have hired a completely new staff and will remove the previous dealership name from every aspect of the store.

Have any of you ever been a victim of a dealership scam? Or how about the opposite; a dealership that went over the top to be sure you were properly taken care of? Please don't mention any names of people or dealerships in the comments, but interesting anecdotes are always welcome.