August, 1994 - This case involved a nationwide scheme dealing with a bogus car loan. In this scheme, the car dealer would agree to sell the car to the consumer for a certain high price and then arrange the financing for the consumer. The car dealer would include an extra amount in the price and amount financed so that the customer was paying more for it than the car was worth. He was also paying interest on this amount. When the finance company gave the money to the car dealer for the car, it didn't give the full purchase price to them. Instead, it held back a substantial amount. The practical effect was that the consumer paid much more for the vehicle than it was really worth. The jury found this was fraudulent activity and sent them a message to stop them. After the case was settled, the company was caught "cooking the books" and later went out of business.