EUSTICE, FL – A car dealership that specializes in hot rods and classic cars is under criminal investigation and facing more than a dozen lawsuits as former customers claim they were defrauded by the company, News 6 has learned.
FSD Hot Rod Ranch bought and sold vintage vehicles until it suddenly closed last month. FSD stands for “Father, Son, Daughter,” according to an archived copy of the now-defunct company’s website.
Classic car owners who arranged for the dealer to sell their vehicles were never paid, claim multiple lawsuits against the company, while customers who bought cars from the dealer claim they never received ownership of what they bought. vehicles.
Federal investigators have opened an investigation into potential criminal activity that could include fraud and financial crimes, according to the Florida agency that licenses motor vehicle dealers.
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The Eustis Police Department confirmed it is also conducting an ongoing criminal investigation into the car dealer.
Representatives for FSD Hot Rod Ranch and the company’s attorney did not respond to multiple emails and a voice message from News 6 seeking comment.
In court filings, the company denied defrauding vehicle owners or engaging in deceptive and unfair business practices.
The classic car dealer was featured on a 2020 episode of Trending Today on Fox Business.
“This is the most important business in my life,” owner Stephen Phelps said on the TV program.
Phelps, a retired health company executive and Honda dealership owner, founded FSD Hot Rod Ranch with his two grown children.
“Shame on you,” said Debra Myers, who has been trying for months to get title to a classic car purchased by Phelps’ company. “It looks like I’ve been taken advantage of, and I don’t like that.”
The dealer failed to show the car’s title, the woman claimed
Myers arrived home in April to find a replica 1931 Ford Model A Phaeton parked in her driveway.
The $26,000 street rod was a retirement gift from her fiance Mark Beale.
“I was so surprised,” Myers said. “She’s beautiful. Her name is Clara. We named all our cars. Her name is Clara.
Myers said she and Beal spent much of April driving around Ocala together and taking Clara to classic car shows.
“It’s a beautiful car. She was fun to drive,” Myers said.
But two months after purchasing the car from FSD Hot Rod Ranch, Beal became seriously ill and died.
After her fiancé’s unexpected death, Myers said she received a phone call from their bank requesting title to the vehicle as collateral for the couple’s car loan.
According to Myers, the bank attempted to obtain title to the vehicle directly from FSD Hot Rod Ranch, but the dealer reportedly did not return the bank’s phone calls.
Myers said she called Phelps and was assured he would take care of the problem.
“He hinted that he had the title,” Myers said.
But more than two months later, Myers said FSD Hot Rod Ranch still has not transferred ownership of the car to her or the bank.
Without the title, Myers could not legally register the vehicle or replace the temporary license plate issued by the car’s dealer, which Myers said she later discovered was never valid.
“I can’t drive it. And I can’t sell it. But I’m responsible for the loan,” said Myers, who continues to make monthly payments of $425 on the car.
Car buyers and sellers file lawsuits against the dealer
Fifteen lawsuits have been filed against FSD Hot Rod Ranch, Phelps and other company officials in Lake County District Court since May, records show. Two of those cases were later dismissed by the plaintiffs, but the others remain open.
Some of the lawsuits have been filed by car buyers who, like Myers, claim the dealer never produced titles for the vehicles they purchased.
One buyer, Vincent Miller, said he paid more than $25,000 for a 1997 Chevrolet Camero, but FSD Hot Rod Ranch was unable to deliver the vehicle to Miller’s home in Wisconsin.
Miller later traveled to Florida and picked up the car, but the dealer never turned over the title, the suit alleges.
Another buyer, Edna Slade, claims she traded in a 1937 Ford sedan worth $31,000 and paid an additional $10,000 to buy a 1972 Chevy C10 truck from FSD Hot Rod Ranch.
The dealer sent Slade a photo that purported to show the Chevy title, according to the lawsuit, but never sent the actual document to Slade.
Slade later repossessed the 1972 Chevy and got his 1937 Ford back, but still owed $10,000 from the dealer, the lawsuit alleges.
“When they sold these vehicles, they knew they had no title,” said N. James Turner, an Orlando attorney who represents 10 plaintiffs, including Miller and Slade.
In addition to car buyers, Turner’s customers include classic car owners who have signed contracts with FSD Hot Rod Ranch to sell their vintage cars on consignment.
Under a “delayed payment agreement,” the owner retains title until FSD Hot Rod Ranch sells their vehicle, court records show.
If FSD Hot Rod Ranch fails to sell a vehicle within 90 days, the dealer promises to pay the owner an additional “bonus” ranging from $15 to $60 per day until it is sold, the agreement states.
After receiving full payment from FSD Hot Rod Ranch, the owner was to transfer ownership to the buyer “ASAP,” according to copies of the agreements attached to the lawsuits.
Multiple car owners are now accusing FSD Hot Rod Ranch of not making payments after their vehicles were sold or of withholding “bonus” payments if it took more than 90 days for the sale to go through.
Most of those owners retained ownership of their vehicles, the lawsuits indicate, so buyers who may have purchased the vehicles from FSD Hot Rod Ranch still don’t have the paperwork.
One of Turner’s clients, Troy Kimball, arranged for FSD Hot Rod Ranch to sell his 1934 Chevy Outlaw for $40,000, court records show.
Kimball, who lives in Maine, sent the vintage car to Eustis in July 2022, the lawsuit alleges.
When the vehicle didn’t sell within 90 days, Kimball received a message from FSD Hot Rod Ranch assuring him he would receive a $30 per day bonus along with a $500 hotel gift certificate, according to a copy of the letter filed as part of Kimball’s case.
“As I said on the phone, we have expanded very aggressively over the last 90 days,” Phelps wrote in the March 16 letter. “We sold over 20 cars last month and are very profitable, but due to many of our cars being financed, cash flow has been slower than expected.”
According to the lawsuit, the car dealer later sent Kimball photos of a check for $44,990 and a FedEx label addressed to Kimball.
That led Kimball to believe “the check was in the mail,” according to the lawsuit.
But Kimball claims payment for his 1934 Outlaw never arrived.
“Clearly this is a scheme to scam people out of their vehicles,” Turner said.
In a written response to Kimball’s lawsuit, an attorney representing the dealership denied that Phelps intended to defraud Kimball with the check photo and denied that the dealership defrauded vehicle owners.
Brett Pace, who is also represented by Turner, arranged for FSD Hot Rod Ranch to sell his 1958 Chevy Apache and 1972 GMC half-ton truck, the lawsuit alleges.
“There they are, my babies,” Pace said as he recorded a video of the two vehicles being loaded into a moving van outside his Utah home in August 2022.
According to Pace’s lawsuit, the dealer never paid him the $28,000 agreed-upon price for the 1972 GMC truck, nor any $30-a-day “bonus” payments that began on Dec. 6, 2022.
FSD Hot Rod Ranch eventually paid Pace $53,000 for his 1958 Apache, but still owed him an additional $2,400 in “bonus” payments, according to the lawsuit.
The dealer has yet to respond to Pace’s lawsuit.
Bradley Everidge sued FSD Hot Rod Ranch in July after the dealer allegedly failed to pay him $43,000 for a 1956 Ford F100 panel truck he shipped to Eustis, Indiana, in May.
Less than two months after Everage filed the lawsuit, FSD Hot Rod Ranch sent him the full payment, according to court documents filed by the dealership’s attorney. The company
denied violating Florida laws prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices.
Authorities launch criminal investigations against car dealer
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has received 58 consumer complaints about the FSD Hot Rod Ranch, most of which have been filed since June.
According to this state agency, federal authorities have opened an investigation into potential criminal activity that may include fraud and financial crimes.
The Eustis Police Department is also investigating the dealership.
“It’s an active investigation and I can’t comment on the details,” Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri told News 6.
Representatives for FSD Hot Rod Ranch and their attorney did not respond to questions from News 6 about these criminal investigations.
Although the car dealership’s website shows the company has now closed, Turner expects more lawsuits to be filed.
“The next chapter in my pursuit of FSD is to find the money and obtain compensation for my clients,” the lawyer said.
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