Like many other companies out there, Ford has faced its fair share of issues in terms of third parties peddling non-official parts as genuine, as well as merchandise and other items being sold that are pure counterfeits, too. In fact, almost exactly two years ago, Ford filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against four companies claiming they sold, distributed, and advertised thousands of products that were marketed as OEM goods, but that wasn’t the case. Now, two other individuals have been charged with a scheme to defraud Ford, too.
Acting United States Attorney Thomas J. Jaworski for the Middle District of Tennessee just announced that the DOJ has charged John Alan Nebel and Joshua David Nichols of that same state with conspiring to defraud Ford Motor Company by selling old fuel injectors in boxes falsely labeled with Ford markings to make it appear as though those parts were eligible for a rebate from the automaker. Nebel was a founder and co-owner of Sumner Wholesale Auto Group LLC, which operated under the name SWAG Performance & Off-Road LLC in Hendersonville, Tennessee, during the time of the conspiracy, while Nichols was an independent contractor working for SWAG. The company has since relocated to Cotton Town, Tennessee.
At that time, Ford was offering customers who purchased a genuine Ford replacement fuel injector a rebate program, which reimbursed them $180 of the approximate cost of $300 if they returned their old fuel injectors. However, instead of selling new, genuine Ford fuel injectors to SWAG’s customers, Nebel, Nichols, and their co-conspirators bought old, used cores for $35 to $45, packaged them using fake labels, decals, and logos so that they appeared to be cores that were associated with the purchase of new replacement parts, and then sold them to SWAG customers for $95 to $170 each.
This case is now under the watch of Homeland Security Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie N. Toussaint, who is serving as the prosecutor. If convicted of these charges, Nebel and Nichols face up to 20 years in federal prison, as well as a maximum fine of $250,000 each.
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