William McKibbin — the man accused of multi-million dollar auto loan fraud who recently turned up in Stowe — has returned to Michigan, where the Michigan attorney general has taken measures to reimburse her constituents and bring McKibbin to justice.
McKibbin’s case will have a probable cause conference on July 23, followed by a preliminary exam on July 30. He appears to have returned to Michigan voluntarily by airplane.
William Walter McKibbin III, photo supplied by Vermont State Police.
In Michigan, as in at least six other states, McKibbin, 39, and his partner Mark Weiner operated an online car loan business that allegedly charged interest rates of over 200%. If customers couldn’t pay, McKibbin and Weiner repossessed their cars. At one point, the enterprise had more than $20 million in outstanding loans in Michigan alone.
McKibbin returned to Michigan from Vermont where he was working at Berlin City Kia in Williston. The Michigan charges were discovered when McKibbin tried to cross the U.S.-Canadian border in June on his way back to his home in Stowe.
Both McKibbin and Weiner face 21 charges: one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, 10 counts of false pretenses, and 10 counts of usury. All are felonies. He faces decades in prison if convicted.
In addition to charging the men directly, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged their operation — called Autoloans LLC in the Michigan suit — with the same crimes. The company entered into a settlement with the office in late June. According to a press release from the attorney general’s office, the settlement established a restitution fund of $1.6 million to reimburse affected residents.
Claimants will be paid back any amount above the principal of their loan. If their car was repossessed, they will also be reimbursed the fair market value of their vehicle.
“The Michigan Attorney General’s Office will not allow out-of-state businesses to take advantage of Michigan consumers,” Nessel said in the press release. “All companies that want to do business with our consumers will be held to the same laws and standards, regardless of where they are located.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Alleged auto loan fraudster McKibbin back in Michigan.