IRS Agents raid Luxor Auto Group and arrest three for money laundering

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News reports indicate that IRS Agents raided Luxor Auto Group in Scottsdale, AZ last week and arrested three individuals and charged them with money laundering. For the full report - click here

Luxor Auto Group has two dealerships in the Phoenix area that typically sell higher-end European used cars.

According to the report, undercover IRS agents first contacted the dealership and arranged to purchase a vehicle for $10,000 in cash and requested that the transaction not be reported. After the first transaction was successful the agents made arrangements to purchase a second vehicle for $80,000 in cash and left a $20,000 deposit of cash left in a Crown Royal bag.

According to the charges, the dealership advised the IRS agents that the second vehicle should be titled in another person's name. The dealership completed the transaction on the second vehicle when they received the remaining $60,000 in cash. (Another report indicated that the dealership made a bank deposit of almost $60,000 in cash on the same day.)

After the second transaction was successful, IRS agents returned to purchase a third vehicle for $200,000 and this is when the raid took place.

Ironically, according to the charges, the undercover IRS agents noticed a jewelry display case in the dealership and were advised that the owner of the jewelry store would also do cash transactions without filling out the required documents. The IRS agents made a cash transaction with the jewelry store and have arrested an individual as a result of that transaction.

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I thought of this thread when I read in the local news that all of the felony charges against the owners of the Luxor Auto Group Dealerships had been dropped. The only charge that remained was a misdemeanor charge of "Failure to file Form 8300" which the defendants pleaded guilty to. For a link to the full report - click here

The owner of the two dealerships reported that he was forced to close both operations shortly after the raid mostly due to the damage the stores' reputations took after the raid. He indicated the media coverage of the raid left a long lasting impression that impacted his business.

My impression is there is a lot more to this story than what's being reported or being acknowledged by the IRS. How is it possible that a case that appeared to have substantial evidence just disappears and resulted in nothing more than a minor misdemeanor filing?

Here's an excerpt from the news report that details the positions of both sides:

He said the charges and the media spectacle of the raid were too much to overcome. Hamid was reluctant to delve into details, saying the court case was ongoing. He said he and his brother "made a mistake" and are trying to rebuild their lives.

"I would hate to see what happened to me happen to other people," Hamid said. "I want my story to be known. ... We didn't do anything they accused me of."

Officials with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, which spearheaded the 2014 raid, declined to comment on the case last month.