New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
The plaintiffs in this case are the Auto Collection Inc, et al. The defendants in the case are Christopher Pinkow, et al. The case is being heard in the Supreme Court of the State of New York located in Kings County.
Case Background
The plaintiffs, the Auto Collection Inc. is a corporation of New York and is licensed by the State of New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles to operate a car dealership. Auto Collection is in the retail business of selling cars. Steven and Joshua Lever are members of the Auto Collection. Autoland and LOV Motors, Inc. are exporters of cars and they purchase high end vehicles and other vehicles to sell to customers located in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. They have not been licensed by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Oleg Sakhontchik is a representative for LOV. Gleb Sakhontchik is a member of Autoland.
There are currently three civil action cases pending in the Kings County Supreme Court against Auto Collection that are related to this case. The defendant in this case has pleaded guilty to a scheme of defraud in the second degree (white collar crime) and in the criminal action case, Auto Collection was named as a defendant, but it is uncertain of their status in the case.
All of the actions involving the plaintiff and defendants in this case have common claims and patterns. All of the actions allege that Auto Collection sold several luxury vehicles to a company that exports these vehicles to an Eastern European country and to Russia. Auto Collection demanded prepayment in the sale of these vehicles. The purchaser agreed and paid either the full amount or a deposit and they did not receive the vehicles and the purchase price was not returned to them. In all of the actions, Auto Collection argues that their employee, the defendant Pinkow defrauded the company without the knowledge or participation of Steven or Joshua.
In this case, Auto Collection states that the defendants created a fraudulent scheme to defraud the company through racketeering activities. They further state that their employee was working directly with defendant Boris Kotlvarsky and that he arranged for several of the defendants to act as good faith purchasers who then wired money to Auto Collection advance payments for the cars. Auto Collections states that once the funds were in their bank account Pinkow would then manipulate the funds for his own benefit and the benefit of the defendants. They state the cars were delivered to the purchasers and were then exported to Europe and Russia.
The defendants have moved for summary judgment in the case to dismiss the complaint made against them. The defendants state that they sent the money to Auto Collection and they did not receive the cars that they had paid for.
Case Discussion and Decision
In order for summary judgment to be determined it must be proven without a doubt that there is no triable evidence in regard to the matter at hand.
After reviewing all of the causes of action in the case, numbered one through ten, the court orders that a summary judgment be granted to the defendants in the tenth cause of action. All other causes of action will remain.
If you need legal advice contact the law offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates, whether you have been charged with mail fraud, a DWAI or embezzlement . Our team of expert lawyers is happy to sit down with you during a free consultation and discuss your case. Our offices are located throughout the city of New York for your convenience.