Smyrna Car Dealer Faces Federal Fraud Charges

NASHVILLE, TN — Randy Roth, owner of two Rutherford County car lots, was charged Monday with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud in U.S. District Court.

More than 50 people complained about Roth's Nashville Motor Cars, which had locations in Smyrna and Murfreesboro before suddenly shuttering both locations in June 2015 with eyewitnesses saying that a creditor towed the cars off the lot in the middle of the night, to the state's motor vehicles commission. One woman alleged she bought a truck that someone else was still making payments on. Another man claims that Nashville Motor Cars stopped payment on two checks for $12,000. The motor vehicle commission stripped NMC of its license in July 2015 and fined it $200,000.

"It's really bad," Eddie Roberts, chairman of the Motor Vehicle Commission, told WSMV. "Again, it's worse than an embarrassment for our industry. It's just a sad day."

Roth faces 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted.

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