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Car dealer who ran from I-Team ordered to give up cars

"You're taking somebody's money and you're not giving them a product. How can you not know this is fraud?" said Bill Cantwell, a former business partner of Eric Carmack.
Credit: Clancy, Samuel

O'FALLON, Mo. – A local auto dealer who ran away from our cameras will have all the cars on his lot- seized.

That was the ruling of a St. Charles County judge Thursday.

Eric Carmack of Driven Auto Sales is accused of selling more than 30 cars without titles.

The cars were being used as collateral for a $2.3 million loan the Carmack's took from Heritage bank last year.

The I-Team attempted to catch up with Carmack in late February, but he quickly jumped in a vehicle and sped away from his O'Fallon lot to avoid our cameras.

Andrew McElwain, of Heritage Bank testified dozens of vehicles have gone missing off Carmack's two auto dealership lots with no bill of sale. He accused Carmack of selling cars for cash and pocketing the earnings.

But the I-Team made a startling discovery as well.

About a dozen of the cars were also for sale on Craigslist. The ads were recently posted, apparently by Eric Carmack. You can even see the Driven Auto sign in the background.

A former business partner was also slated to testify that Carmack was hiding cars from the bank at his business.

"You're taking somebody's money and you're not giving them a product. How can you not know this is fraud?" said Bill Cantwell, owner of Bill's Deisel Performance and Auto Repair

The Chief Lending Officer at Heritage bank testified that he's been advised by the Attorney General's office to release all titles to the cars purchased. But that still has to be officially decided.

Anyone who is experiencing title issues related to Driven Auto Sales should contact David Buehrle with the Department of Revenue at 636-300-2863. Buehrle is working to get titles for all the customers who were sold a vehicle without one.

Buehrle also advised anyone who doesn't have a title to keep copies of all fees, tickets and receipts related to their vehicle's title status. You can send those documents to the Department of Revenue and they may reimburse you. Buehrle said the department of revenue is actively working to get titles for Driven Auto customers who are currently without proper documentation.

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