A 91-year-old Fort Wayne man is on the wrong end of a deficiency lawsuit over a car he says he never meant to buy, and the paperwork at the center of the fight is a credit application with an income figure his lawyer says was invented at the dealership.
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC filed a civil complaint against Ronald Mills in Allen County Superior Court on March 23, 2026, seeking $22,202 plus costs — the balance left over after the vehicle was repossessed and resold for less than what was owed. The filing is searchable through Indiana’s case portal. Mills, who was 88 at the time of the September 2022 transaction, says he went to Mercedes-Benz of Fort Wayne believing he was cosigning so his granddaughter could get approved. His attorney’s April 30, 2026 letter to opposing counsel alleges a salesperson directed that the credit application list Mills’ income at $80,000 a year when his actual income was roughly $36,000, calling the document “the product of fraudulent activity by Mercedes-Benz’s own sales person.” None of that has been proven in court, and neither the dealership nor MBFS has been found liable for anything.
Set the allegations aside for a moment and just look at the arithmetic, because the arithmetic is the story…