Tow Company Accused of Auctioning Vehicles Belonging to Deployed Service Members Settles Lawsuit

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Towing companies are still some of the most sketchy businesses around. It seems every time one pops up in the news it’s because they were doing something they shouldn’t have. This time isn’t any different. The United States Justice Department announced a towing company has settled a suit after allegedly auctioning off vehicles of U.S. service members while they were deployed.

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Court documents detail how Steve’s Towing in Virginia Beach, Virginia allegedly started violating the Service Members Civil Relief Act in 2019. Under the act, a towing company must make the effort to determine whether or not a vehicle that’s been towed and is in the company’s possession is owned by an active duty service member. If it is, the towing company must get a court order before they sell the vehicle for a profit. Allegedly, Steve’s Towing didn’t do this even with clear proof of who owned the vehicles the company had towed.

The Justice Department started an investigation into the company after reports that two vehicles from the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story were towed and later auctioned. Both vehicles belonged to a Navy Seal who was deployed from October 2019 to April 2020.

One of the vehicles, a Land Cruiser, was allegedly towed by Steve’s in early January 2020. Aside from the fact that it was being towed from a base, the Land Cruiser was filled with clues that the owner was a service member. Inside the vehicle was a duffle bag filled with spare uniforms and a Naval Special Warfare Development Group Sniper challenge coin. It’s alleged that the company towed and auctioned five other service member vehicles during the same timeframe.

The suit again Steve’s Towing was filed in spring of 2022, and according to Military.com seemed to come as a shock to Steve’s Towing general manager Lee Gilliam. “We love our military and would never auction off an active-duty military vehicle knowingly,” he said.

The case came to a close on April 7th. In a settlement, Steve’s Towing agreed to pay $90,000 over the tows: $67,500 goes to the seven service members who had their vehicles towed; $12,500 to any additional service members that may have been affected, and a $10,000 civil penalty.

In a statement from the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica D. Aber said her district will always make sure service members are treated fairly. “Service members often rely heavily on their personal vehicles to commute to work and care for their families. A service member’s loss of a vehicle, therefore, can affect the military’s readiness. EDVA is dedicated to holding accountable businesses who do not uphold the right of service members under the SCRA.”