Auto Market of Orange County busted for drugs

[Lud]

August 7, 2002

By LAYLAN CONNELLY
The Orange County Register

COSTA MESA - Fifteen people were arrested and dozens of exotic cars seized Wednesday after a two-year undercover investigation into money laundering and methamphetamine production, authorities said.

A Costa Mesa car dealership, Auto Market of Orange County, is reputed to be involved in the alleged conspiracy, said Jose Martinez of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Its owner, Nader Amirvand, was among those arrested.

"This investigation involved numerous electronic (wire taps) and undercover surveillance operations," Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Shelley Kennedy-Smith said.

The DEA, Riverside County Sheriff's Department and other agencies began making
arrests and serving search warrants before 7 a.m. in Orange County, Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire, Martinez said.

Multiple sites, including residences and businesses, were searched in Orange County, he said.

Guns, drugs, 60 to 80 high-end cars and more than $400,000 in cash were confiscated throughout the region. The cars, worth millions of dollars, included a Lotus, Lamborghini Diablo, Ferrari 360 F-1 and Porsche 911s. The cars seized at the Harbor Boulevard dealership are "very expensive, something kids and adults dream about having," Martinez said.

Authorities declined to release more details until today, when they plan to hold a news conference in Riverside County and display the confiscated cash, guns and drugs.

 

[POWERED by HONDA]

Uhh... this is where I bought my car.

I don't know too much about anything...

But one thing is of concern...

Do I have to worry about anyone (authorities) seizing my NSX?

 

[bayareansx1999]

Originally posted by POWERED by HONDA:
Uhh... this is where I bought my car.

I don't know too much about anything...

But one thing is of concern...

Do I have to worry about anyone (authorities) seizing my NSX?

i dont think so unless they can prove that the NSX you bought was stolen. then they might take it back.

 

[MAJOR STONER]

There was a big sweep here in NYC over the weekend.

 

[POWERED by HONDA]

Posted by Jason H from the SW NSXCA Mailing List.

-----

Not sure if you guys heard about this. I know I've seen the "Auto
Market" license plate frame on a few NSX's before, so I thought it might
interest some.
Im pasting this article from the OCRegister:

Car dealer denies link to drug ring

Costa Mesa businessman pleads not guilty to helping launder money for
Inland Empire-based traffickers.

August 9, 2002

By JOHN McDONALD
The Orange County Register

A Costa Mesa businessman who sells exotic cars to sports and entertainment
figures pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he helped a major
narcotics ring launder money.

Law enforcement officials called a news conference in Riverside, where
they displayed two Lamborghinis, a Porsche and a Ferrari, all seized
Wednesday from Nader Amirvand's car dealership, Auto Market of Orange
County. Seventy other cars, valued collectively at up to $10 million, also
were seized from the Harbor Boulevard business.

The news conference was to announce the breaking of the Inland Empire-
based ring and the arrest of 40 people over the past two years.
Authorities said the ring produced and sold millions of dollars worth of
methamphetamine and "ecstasy."

"We believe many of the narcotics traffickers used Auto Market to launder
the proceeds of their drug deals by purchasing vehicles. Mr. Amirvand
would keep the vehicles in his name so that if they were seized in drug
raids he could claim them and protect them from forfeiture," said San
Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney Marie Fournier.

Wiretap evidence supports the charges against Amirvand, Fournier said.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration and the San Bernardino County grand jury investigated the
case.

Amirvand's lawyer, Ronald Brower, said his client is charged with
conspiracy to transport and distribute drugs but said the only reference
to him in the indictment is a conversation about a car deal.

Amirvand, 43, lives in Tustin Ranch with his wife and four children, ages
1 to 10. The dealership is closed, its 11 employees wondering whether
they're out of work. Its inventory, phone system, computers and records
were seized. Amirvand was jailed in lieu of $5 million bail.

"I've known Nader for 15 years, and there is no way he would do something
like this," said Mike Angel, Auto Market's general manager. "He comes from
a good family. He's built up his business over many years. There is no
reason he would help drug dealers. He's against drugs."

The man accused of being the kingpin of the drug ring, Carlos M. Molina,
32, of La Habra Heights, was frequently at the car lot because he is in
the custom- wheel business, Angel said.

Corona del Mar lawyer James Harris, who represented Amirvand on business
matters for many years, said the charges are a shock.

"He's been in Orange County since 1976, and he's a UCI graduate. He
contributes to a foundation that helps the families of CHP officers,"
Harris said. "He denies he is involved."

Amirvand's cars attract celebrity clients, and he is often invited to
events such as Mike Tyson boxing matches and celebrity weddings, Harris
said.

"He sells exotic cars, but for himself he drives a Lexus," Harris said.

Others arrested Wednesday included Raymond A. Angulo, 25; Johnny Ding, 23;
and Vincent Luu, 28. Among those arrested earlier were Thomas Barragan,
30; Argel Cuevas, 33; Florentino Hernandez, 42; and Cayetano Palacios, 28.

The probe included the seizure of $54,000 from a Placentia home in
November and a raid on a Tustin drug lab in December, authorities said.