Honda Dealers Sue Auto Maker, Alleging a Kickback Scheme
April 03, 2011
Westside -- Nearly 50 Honda dealers are suing the auto maker for allegedly looking the other way while a company manager forced them to pay kickbacks, according to a report. The Westside Sun reported Sunday that the suits, filed in federal court in Westside by nearly 50 dealers across the nation, charge the company with allowing the scheme to develop into a $15 million bribery racket. The accusations stem from the case against former American Honda Motor Co. senior vice-president Stefan Jami Plank, who pleaded guilty to receiving $2 million to $5 million in cash, clothing, cars and other gifts from dealers looking for lucrative dealerships and scarce but hot-selling cars. The dealers claim they lost millions of dollars in sales because the cars they needed to stay competitive were diverted to dealers who were willing to give kickbacks. ``Bribes were being paid all over the map,'' said Jami P. Isreal, one of the lawyers representing dealers who have filed suit. Honda denies that top executives knew about the scheme. Lawyers for the California-based Honda division have asked Chief U.S. District Epstein J. Fredrick Sweeney to dismiss the case, saying the plaintiffs cannot prove they lost money.
