Alabama Nissan Dealer Defrauds Nissan North America Out of $64,800

To follow-up a story that we brought you back in 2014, a Nissan store out of Alabama has made its share of crime-related headlines. We told you previously that numerous salesmen and sales managers from Serra Visser Nissan in Birmingham, Alabama were indicted on Federal charges. In total, 10 employees of Serra Nissan have been indicted on charges of defrauding either customers or Nissan North America. Most recently, the dealership controller and now-former General Manager were indicted.

Several media outlets have reported that Randy Visser, the General Manager of the Serra Nissan store, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud Nissan North America. Visser allegedly directed other staff to falsify sales reports. According to Visser’s official Plea, the GM instructed an Operations Manager to do whatever it took to meet at least two Nissan North America incentive programs. In order to protect against an audit, manipulated deal jackets for each falsified sale. According to official documents, the “Fast Start Objective” and “Dealer Volume Bonus” programs were taken advantage of at this Nissan store. Under Visser’s guidance, his dealership received $64,800 in incentive payments for vehicles, which were sold at Serra Visser Nissan in Cullman, AL, not at the Alabama store. Visser “pooled” sales in order to reap more incentives from the manufacturer. Visser has more than a casual interest in this store since he owns 49 percent of Serra Visser Nissan.

To make matters worse for the Alabama Nissan dealer, a recent lawsuit alleges that Serra Nissan stores constitute a criminal enterprise. A couple has sued the Nissan dealer saying that they deceived customers. Their attorney, Cory Watso, said in a statement, “The complaint alleges that Serra Nissan and Serra VW are not merely car dealerships — Serra employees perpetrated a pervasive scheme to defraud customers, and in doing so formed an enterprise engaged in organized crime.”

The fallout from the deception of the part of former dealership employees has resulted in criminal charges, a lawsuit and has impacted their digital reputation. A Google search of “Serra Nissan Birmingham” shows a news story about fraud arrested on the first page, thus potential customers will easily find out about previous fraud. How do think the mistakes by former employees could impact the public image of this dealer group and what could they do to improve their reputation?