VW accuses Lamborghini O.C. of $12 million theft
January 13th, 2009, 6:00 am · 4 Comments · posted by John Gittelsohn
Lamborghini Orange County, formerly the world’s largest dealer of the Italian luxury vehicles that sell from upwards of $200,000 apiece, closed in November without explanation. Now court documents indicate what happened.
The owners of Lamborghini Orange County in Santa Ana committed “outright theft” of approximately $12 million by selling its fleet of exotic sports cars at deep discounts and failing to pay their creditor, according to a lawsuit filed by Volkswagen Credit Inc. in Orange County Superior Court.
The lawsuit says the owners of the Orange County dealership and its affiliate in Calabasas unloaded 54 cars in eight days – accounting for 8 percent of all the Lamborghinis sold in the United States during all of 2008.
The lawsuit says VW Credit, which covered the cost of Lamborghini O.C.’s cars in advance of sale, doesn’t know where the proceeds went. But it didn’t get the money.
The owners of the dealerships named in the suit are Vik Keuylian and his sisters Asdghig, Nora and Sossi Keuylian. Their attorney, Jeffrey Gubernick, declined to comment on the allegations, because the case is still under litigation.
Gubernick has filed a motion to strike VW Credit’s demand for punitive damages, but still not responded to the general allegations in the lawsuit. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22.
The Keuylians attracted a celebrity list of customers, including NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Dennis Rodman. They staged fundraisers hosted by Elton John and Sharon Stone to support research to fight AIDS.
VW Credit provided financing for Lamborghini Orange County and its sister dealer in Calabasas to finance the cars. Volkswagen owns Lamborghini.
In a separate suit filed in Orange County Superior Court, East-West Bank is suing the Keuylians and Lamborghini Orange County for defaulting on a $3 million loan, for which they failed make payments in November and December.
Another lawsuit filed in Las Vegas seeks $340,000 from Vik Keuylian for failing to pay him for a 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago formerly owned by Stephen Cloobeck, owner of Diamond Resorts.
“They took the car but never gave me the check,” Cloobeck said.