Walser Automotive and car broker William Ward are charged with buying and selling high-end vehicles through a shell company in Montana.
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.
Charging documents say Ward and Walser Automotive set up a Montana LLC since Montana does not charge motor vehicle sales tax. Court documents say Walser Automotive would wire funds to Ward to purchase a new car under the shell company. Then, Walser’s pre-owned branch would take the car, label it used, and sell it to a buyer Ward already had lined up.
Charges say Walser Automotive and Ward would then split the profits.
KARE 11 received a statement from Walser Automotive Group CEO Andrew Walser that says:
“We do not believe we did anything inappropriate and will be prepared to share those facts in court. We’ve built our business in Minnesota over the past 70 years by living out our core value to always do the right thing, which has and will continue to guide our decisions.”
