Ohio State to Investigate Players' Car Deals

Ohio State has announced an investigation into used-car purchases made by athletes and their families from two different dealerships in the past five or six years. The Columbus Dispatch reports:

Ohio State University's chief enforcer of NCAA rules said yesterday that he will investigate used-car purchases made by dozens of OSU athletes at two Columbus car dealers to see if any sale violated collegiate rules.

The investigation was initiated after The Dispatch found in public records that at least eight Ohio State athletes and 11 athletes' relatives bought used cars from Jack Maxton Chevrolet or Auto Direct during the past five years. The investigation will involve outside experts and examine at least 50 sales, focusing on whether the athletes received improper benefits.

Ohio State is specifically investigating the issue because of a certain salesman, Aaron Kniffin, who has worked at both dealerships and is responsible for many of the transactions. Ohio State has not detected any case of improper benefits, but the large number of athletes purchasing cars from the same salesman has sufficiently frightened the program.

The Dispatch conducted an interview yesterday with Ohio State head of compliance Doug Archie and the owners of the two dealerships.

In a joint interview with Archie yesterday, Jack Maxton owner Jeff Mauk and Auto Direct owner Jason Goss both said they never have given athletes special deals.

Mauk estimated that 40 to 50 Buckeyes bought cars from his dealership in the past five or six years .

Archie said that he was aware of all the transactions involving the athletes that The Dispatch found, but he was unaware of purchases made by their relatives.

Both dealers, whose businesses are not connected, say they routinely call Archie's office when an athlete is ready to buy a car, provide the purchase price and discuss who will co-sign on a loan. Archie said he relies on the car dealers to provide accurate information.

Ohio State became aware of the large number of transactions between Kniffin and players after a Columbus Dispatch request for public records turned up the connection. Specifically, then Buckeye Thaddeus Gibson had a peculiarity with his purchase deed.

Public records show that in 2009, a 2-year-old Chrysler 300 with less than 20,000 miles was titled to then-sophomore linebacker Thaddeus Gibson. Documents show the purchase price as $0.

Mauk could not explain it. "I don't give cars for free," he said. Gibson said he was unaware the title on his car showed zero as the sales price. "I paid for the car, and I'm still paying for it," he said, declining to answer further questions.

The Dispatch notes that others who have purchased vehicles from the dealership include Beanie Wells, Robert Rose, Doug Worthington, Maurice Wells, Solomon Thomas, and assorted family members of players.

Citing two unnamed former NCAA officials, the Dispatch states that there is "cause for concern" over the large number of transactions between players and the same salesman.

When contacted to make a statement, Kniffin said the sales prices were "much more than that" and disputed that the sales prices on the public records were accurate. Kniffin no longer works at the dealerships in question.

The Dispatch contacted Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Registrar Mike Rankin to comment on the issue of under-reported loan values. Rankin believes an investigation into the dealerships' business dealings would be worthwhile, and he suggested one would take place. It is a first-degree misdemeanor to report inaccurate car sale information for tax purposes, and the dealerships could be facing charges if it's determined that they were attempting to subvert the tax code.