At times the Falk racing family has made a lot of news off the race track:
Bank says troubled used-car dealer misappropriated its money
Posted to: News
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
At one time, Charlie Falk had 14 used car lots here and in Richmond and Northern Virginia but has closed many of them over the past decade.
Falk family expenses, 2007
Charlie Falk is accused in court records of using $1.6 million in loans meant to support his used-car business for his familys personal expenses. Listed here are selected 2007 expenses.
Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club: $5,950
Falk Air Corp.: $211,504
Equestrian boarding and lessons: $42,716
Florida mansion expenses: $126,506
By Tim McGlone
The Virginian-Pilot
March 9, 2008
Used-car magnate Charlie Falk, who's been in trouble before for rolling back odometers and defrauding customers, now finds himself accused of swindling $2.8 million from the investment bank that financed his "buy here, pay here" business operation.
The bank, British-based NM Rothschild & Sons, charged in federal bankruptcy court that Falk spent $1.6 million of its money on personal luxuries, such as renovating a Florida mansion; horse boarding and riding lessons for his granddaughter; and country club dues and meals. Last year alone, he spent more than $200,000 flying his private plane, which he billed to his finance company, according to court records.
And when Falk's chief financial officer - a friend of more than 20 years - confronted him about the unauthorized expenses, Falk and his son attacked the man and fired him, according to court records and testimony.
Falk, 70, and his son, Eddie, run a number of used-car lots, including one at his headquarters at 3237 Virginia Beach Blvd. At one time, he had 14 lots here and in Richmond and Northern Virginia but has closed many of them over the past decade.
He created a niche market in the 1970s by offering financing to just about anyone with bad credit. The catch, however, was that the customers paid interest as high as 36 percent. If they missed just one payment, Falk and his finance company repossessed the car.
He faced a class-action racketeering lawsuit in the 1990s from customers who accused Falk of cheating them. Falk settled the suit by writing off $10.5 million in bad loans and paying $400,000 to those customers.
Earlier in his career, he was convicted in Norfolk of charges related to rolling back odometers on his used cars, and served a short jail term.
About six years ago, Falk's finance company went bankrupt after defaulting on a $40 million loan. In that case, Falk was accused of fraud and misappropriation of corporate assets for his personal use.
Rothschild stepped in with a new financing plan, and Falk continued operating, though with only a handful of car lots. The new finance company, which services customer loans, was called Auto Finance Company, or AFC.
In January, AFC and an affiliate, AFC Automobile Receivables Funding II or AFC II, filed for bankruptcy, listing debts of up to $10 million owed to about 150 creditors.
"The Falks are back in 2008 for similar reasons and again seeking the shelter of bankruptcy after having been caught, once again, misappropriating funds for personal use," Rothschild's attorneys wrote in a bankruptcy court motion in January.
"This court cannot allow the Falks to get away with misappropriating $1,600,000 of the Rothschild collateral," the motion states.
Besides the $1.6 million the Falks are accused of spending on personal luxuries, Rothschild also accuses Falk of taking $1.2 million of its money to pay off loans to local banks.
Falk began bleeding the finance companies early in the fall of 2006, according to court testimony. The records also say that Falk isn't even listed as the owner of AFC and AFC II. The majority owners are his son and daughter.
A list of expenses charged to AFC and AFC II include $42,000 on horse boarding and lessons, most of which went to an equestrian center in West Virginia that Falk's granddaughter attends.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars went to pay American Express bills, some listed simply as "meals" or "travel." The Falks also spent $6,000 for dues, meals and expenses at the Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club in Virginia Beach and at the Loggerhead Club & Marina in Hollywood, Fla., where Charlie Falk has his mansion, the court records show.
The Falks also spent at least $125,000 on interior decorating, including a state-of-the-art entertainment system, and on landscaping at the mansion. The funds were also used to pay for Norfolk Admirals season tickets and a "Secret Shoppers Service," the records say.
Through 2007, the Falks were spending about $100,000 a month on personal expenses from the accounts intended to service the customer loans, the records say.
Funds also were used to pay on a loan to TowneBank. Falk borrowed $3 million to pay for repairs for the Avalon Fishing Pier in the Outer Banks, which he and his wife own, the records show.
The finance companies' chief financial officer, Robert E. Upton Jr., tried to tell Falk that his expenses were unreasonable. Month after month, Falk refused to listen, according to the court records and Upton's recent testimony in bankruptcy court.
Last April, Upton told Falk, "This is not going to work. This baby is going to hit the wall," he said in testimony in bankruptcy court.
Upton said he knew that the Rothschild agreement "strictly prohibits" using those funds to pay off other debts, such as the TowneBank loan.
Upton said that at one point last year Falk agreed to retire and remove himself from the business operation. Then he changed his mind, Upton testified.
In another conversation, Upton recalled that Falk agreed to repay the $1.6 million, but then changed his mind about that, too.
The tension grew in the office. Upton continued insisting that Falk repay the $1.6 million. On Jan. 11, Falk erupted.
"Charlie Falk came storming in, I mean storming in," Upton said on the witness stand.
Falk grabbed Upton around the neck and tried to throw him to the ground, Upton testified.
"He says you got to do what I tell you to do," Upton said.
Then Eddie Falk walked in and the three of them struggled. Upton said he got scratched. Then he called 911.
The police arrived, but no charges were filed. Falk fired Upton. He said the Falks wouldn't let him leave with his laptop until he destroyed the hard drive. So, before he left, he said he removed the hard drive and smashed it on the floor.
Their 20-year friendship was over.
Upton did not return messages for this story.
Falk and his son referred questions to their attorneys. The attorneys did not return repeated messages.
In court, Falk's attorneys tried to make Upton culpable in the financial scheme.
The lawyers argued that Upton also spent about $2,000 a month on personal expenses with a finance company credit card.
The ordeal has made U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen C. St. John uneasy.
"I don't trust anyone in this case, I'll tell you up front," he told the lawyers at a recent hearing.
After four days of hearings in recent weeks, St. John noted that he heard "a great deal" of evidence concerning "mismanagement, dishonesty and incompetence."
He ordered the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee and has allowed Upton to create his own finance company to continue serving some of the consumer loans without interference from Falk.
Upton opened an office off High Street in Portsmouth. Outside the front door, in view a few hundred yards away, sits a Charlie Falk Auto lot.
Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com
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