MINNESOTA, USA — A popular Twin Cities car dealership is now under the microscope for alleged tax evasion, charged with buying and selling high-end vehicles through a shell company in Montana.
According to a Hennepin County criminal complaint, Walser Automotive, the parent company of many car dealerships throughout the Twin Cities, worked with car broker William Ward to avoid paying more than $350,000 in motor vehicle sales taxes between March 2020 and August 2023.
Charging documents say Ward would find high-end new cars that he believed could be resold as used for a profit. Prosecutors say this was possible due to the demand for new cars far exceeding supply post-pandemic. Therefore, recently manufactured used cars were at times able to fetch a higher price than a new car because there was no restriction on the price…