BMV Close to Completing Car Investigation, Finds No Violations by Ohio State Players

According to 10TV, the BMV's investigation into used-car purchases by Ohio State players is nearing completion and the results are good for Ohio State. Jack Maxton Chevrolet, the primary dealership under investigation, made money on every purchase and no laws were broken.

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles was nearly finished with its look at car deals involving Ohio State football players, 10 Investigates' Paul Aker reported on Wednesday.

It appears that Jack Maxton Chevrolet, the dealership at the center of the controversy, made money on the car deal. The issue now is whether the state of Ohio received all of the sales tax it was owed, Aker reported.

The BMV's report legitimizes the transactions with Ohio State football players but raises new questions about the dealership's tax history, an issue that could end with Jack Maxton Chevrolet facing charges of tax evasion.

10TV's report further clarifies Thaddeus Gibson's purchase of a 2007 Chrysler 300 for $13,700, as well.

10 Investigates [sic] found that Gibson had a trade-in. He traded in a 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that BMV records showed he bought for $15,400 just seven months earlier.

But the dealership may have given him only $1,000 toward the trade-in, [instead] dropping the sales price of the car he was buying by a substantial amount.

10 Investigates [sic] has learned that's what Kniffin has told investigators with the BMV.

Kniffin claims he had nothing to do with that part of the deal. But he told us in a previous interview his managers did this sort of thing to help close car deals.

"That would be something the sales manager or finance manager would have done to help absorb some of the taxes for him," Kniffin said.

Kniffin has told investigators the dealership did it for many other people, not just Ohio State athletes.

To summarize, it appears Jack Maxton Chevrolet creatively packaged their deals with trade-in customers in order to reduce tax amounts on car purchases. I don't know how common this is in the used-car world, but the BMV is interested enough to continue their investigation.

In any case, it doesn't matter what the BMV finds when they analyze Jack Maxton Chevrolet's tax forms as long as no special treatment was given to Ohio State football players.

With the BMV's conclusion to this part of the investigation, it would also seem to bring closure to the used-car story. Most of the transactions occurred at this Maxton dealership, and it appears that Ohio State and its players are exonerated from any wrongdoing that would interest the NCAA. The NCAA often relies on the judgment of extraneous organizations like the BMV when investigating cases of improper benefits, so this is a big victory for Ohio State as an institution and a welcome bit of news for Ohio State fans.