Scott Tucker convicted (4th Update)
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| Scott Tucker won't be racing cars behind bars |
UPDATE Interesting story of how Scott Tucker and his brothers were brought down by pretty much one man.
Andrew Therrien wanted payback. He got it–and uncovered a conspiracy.
01/06/18 Scott Tucker has been sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison on Friday, for crimes related to his payday lending business.
The four-time American Le Mans Series champion, along with attorney Timothy Muir, were found guilty on racketeering charges last year that included the collection of unlawful debts, using misleading contracts and falsely stating that the businesses were owned and operated by Native American tribes.
Tucker amassed more than $3.5 billion in earnings from his payday lending businesses, which helped fund his Level 5 Motorsports team that competed in major sports car racing series, including the ALMS and Grand-Am.
The team ceased professional racing operations shortly after its GT Daytona class victory in the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
According to a report by Reuters, Tucker, 55, did not make a statement at his sentencing, instead referring to a letter he submitted to the court in December.
"I am remorseful, your honor, for having failed to accurately display, convey and live up to the vision I had," he wrote.
"I am remorseful, your honor, to have left a single person with the misperception that I do not recognize my responsibility to live as a good and fair business man, employer, and American citizen." sportscar365
10/14/17 Race car driver and payday loan mogul Scott Tucker was convicted of racketeering charges stemming from a federal crackdown on lenders who prey on poor people by charging interest rates that sometimes exceeded 700 percent.
Timothy Muir, a lawyer who worked for Tucker, was also found guilty Friday by a jury in Manhattan federal court. The charges included the collection of unlawful debts, using misleading contracts and falsely stating that the businesses were owned and operated by Native American tribes.
"Tucker and Muir sought to get away with their crimes by claiming that this $2 billion business was actually owned and operated by Native American tribes," Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement.
"But that was a lie. The jury saw through Tucker and Muir’s lies and saw their business for what it was — an illegal and predatory scheme to take callous advantage of vulnerable workers living from paycheck to paycheck."
A jury of seven women and five men convicted Tucker and Muir on all 14 criminal counts after deliberating for less than a day. U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel ordered home confinement for the men until they’re sentenced, early next year.
"It was a disappointing verdict and we intend to appeal," Tucker’s lawyer, Lee Ginsberg, said outside court. A lawyer for Muir declined to comment.
Tucker and Muir face as long as 20 years in prison on the most serious charges. The U.S. also seeks to seize at least $2 billion from Tucker, including a property in Aspen, Colorado, a Learjet, six Ferraris and four Porsches, claiming they were bought with proceeds of crime.
The case is U.S. v. Tucker, 16-cr-091, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
05/04/17 See this.
04/16/17
Want to start your own racing team? Or score some competition-grade machinery for use on private track days? You'll want to pack your bags (full of cash) and head to Indiana next month.
That's where Auctions America is gearing up to liquidate the entire collection of the Level 5 Motorsports racing team as its former owner prepares to stand trial for fraud.
Dedicated fans of GT racing may recognize Level 5 Motorsports for having won multiple American Le Mans Series championships and class wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona, among others. The team's budget was allegedly fueled by its owner Scott Tucker's other activities in the payday loan sector – fraudulent activities for which he is preparing to stand trial in just a few days time.
Indicted by federal prosecutors under RICO and TILA statues, Tucker could be facing serious jail time and enormous fines. So a court-appointed monitor is liquidating his collection of racing cars, which will be auctioned off in Auburn Spring on May 11.
There's an array of Ferrari sports racers on the docket, including two 458 GTDs (one of which won its class at Daytona in 2014), two 430s, and a 360 Challenge. Some are estimated to be worth in excess of $200,000. But the real prizes may be the Le Mans racing prototypes: a pair of Honda HPD ARX-03s and three Lola chassis – a B1143, B1183, and B1280 – that could each go for under $100k apiece. There's also a custom Porsche 996 Turbo SCCA racer known as the Hurricane.
And those are just the cars themselves. All told, Auctions America will sell off 350 individual lots, including spare parts, tooling, even transport trailers. The best part is that they're all being sold with no reserve, so if bidding doesn't get too frenzied, new owners could find some real racing deals on their hands. Carscoops