COVINGTON, Tenn. — The Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission announces the recent revocation of the motor vehicle dealer’s license formerly belonging to McDivitt Motors LLC, a Tipton County-based auto dealership owned by Marty McDivitt.
The voluntary revocation by McDivitt came at the conclusion of two years’ of work involving multiple state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies focused on numerous consumer complaints related to false, fraudulent and deceptive acts committed by McDivitt while operating McDivitt Motors, LLC in Covington.
“This is a strong example of how state and local agencies can collaborate to hold those individuals who commit fraudulent and deceptive practices accountable for their misdeeds and prevent additional consumer harm,” said Motor Vehicle Commission Executive Director Denise Lawrence.
The investigation stemmed from a complaint the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission received on January 23, 2019 alleging that McDivitt Motors, LLC was engaging in false, fraudulent and deceptive business practices by selling new vehicles from a used vehicle dealership and avoiding payment of sales tax for the vehicles. After a subsequent investigation, the Commission suspended McDivitt’s automotive dealer’s license on May 16, 2019. Despite McDivitt’s suspended license, more complaints from consumers and licensed automotive dealers continued to be filed with the Motor Vehicle Commission.
Cooperative investigative efforts by the Commission and other local and state agencies revealed that Marty McDivitt was venturing to various out-of-state franchise car dealerships and purchasing new vehicles as an individual before bringing them back to Tennessee where he sold these new vehicles to consumers from his used car dealership with altered titles.
On May 11, the cooperative investigative efforts of multiple agencies resulted in the voluntary revocation of McDivitt Motors, LLC automotive dealer’s license. On May 13, Marty McDivitt was convicted of 21 counts of felony theft by a Tipton County jury stemming from the false, fraudulent and deceptive acts committed by Marty McDivitt and McDivitt Motors, LLC.
In addition to the work on this case by the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Tennessee Department of Revenue, the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office, the Tipton County Clerk’s Office and the District Attorney General’s Office were involved in the successful completion of this investigation.
Said Lawrence: “I urge all Tennessee auto buyers to report any unlicensed or criminal activity they might know to be occurring at a motor vehicle dealership to the Motor Vehicle Commission or to law enforcement.”
If a consumer feels he or she is the victim of an unfair or deceptive business practice when dealing with an auto dealer or salesperson, consumers can file a complaint online with the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission or contact the Commission at (615) 741-2711 or by email at motor.vehicle@tn.gov.
