GT car / Salesman - Shiraaz Sookralli - Champion Porsche's VP of Marketing
04-05-2019, 02:28 PM
#1998
It would be fantastic if Sokralli ended up in the same federal joints as Martin Shkreli. Imagine what kind of stuff those two could do together.
04-05-2019, 03:21 PM
#1999
04-05-2019, 03:41 PM
#2000
couldn't help but both laugh and agree actually. God willing I will never go to jail but with his baggage it doesn't sound half bad
04-05-2019, 08:43 PM
#2001
6th Gear
Join Date: Apr 2019
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I was a victim to this. I started this thread originally trying to find other victims in some discret way, hoping to learn more. I made a deposit in early January 2018. I never in a million years thought this could happen to me. When I first learned I was scammed, sure I was furious. If I’m Champion, what do you do? I still think they should have informed us more frequently, because we all knew the clock was ticking....we’re going to loose the window on an allocation. Roy Diaz was honest with me. He told me from the 1sr call, Champion wants to make this right, they’re just not sure how yet. I can’t speak for everyone, only me. I’ve talked with other victims and not all are happy with the result. I can only report my perspective. I’m happy with my result. I waited longer, they honored my deposit, I Took delivery in late January 2019. The replacement salesman treated me incredible. Their parts guy has been awesome. I have nothing to gain at this point, only to share my experience. I think in the end Champion did step up...at least for me. I hope everyone eventually gets resolve to this.
I hope Shiraaz burns for what he’s done. I have zero sympathy for him.
I hope Shiraaz burns for what he’s done. I have zero sympathy for him.
04-05-2019, 09:07 PM
#2002
Rennlist Member
Event is tomorrow, and we spent the afternoon at Champion mapping out the layout—I think it's going to be a nice morning, and look forward to meeting those who are coming!
As for timing of Sookralli's arrest, we couldn't have had much of an effect on that. I remember the climate here on RL when the scandal broke, and my take then was simple: Champion had always set a high standard of professionalism in my dealings with them at Excellence, a standard I saw continue with 000. Ditto for a lot of friends in the racing world. I felt the company deserved the benefit of the doubt based on its long past. Sounds like it made things right by those customers affected. Should they be punished for doing so, or praised for doing so?
Saw Naveen for the first time in a long time this morning, and barely recognized him. Met his brother, and their desire to run the business as their father did is clear.
Speculation, no? We haven't seen any evidence to support that.
When we announced 000, Dave Maraj was the first person to reach out about advertising in the magazine. I think the email arrived the day after we announced, or maybe two days after. Needless to say, I was surprised and honored by that...as Maraj had been a stalwart supporter of Excellence for many years. His belief was that print mattered, and he supported our hobby in many ways, including his continual support of motorsport to the end. When I arrived at a pit garage in Le Mans last year, the team was adding Champion logos to a 911 and the walls of the garage...Dave Maraj didn't have to support that American effort, but did so.
Yes, there are a lot of Porsche dealers out there. But, when we decided to hold Rare Shades 3 in Florida, Champion was a natural for three reasons: Its longtime status as a #1 volume dealer, its motorsport history, its support of 000, and its enthusiasm for the hobby.
You have to pay a fee to display a car at many events, and usually quite a bit more than $40. There are costs associated with organizing Rare Shades, and the goodie bag provided to entrants contains items with a retail value that exceeds the $40 registration fee...
As for timing of Sookralli's arrest, we couldn't have had much of an effect on that. I remember the climate here on RL when the scandal broke, and my take then was simple: Champion had always set a high standard of professionalism in my dealings with them at Excellence, a standard I saw continue with 000. Ditto for a lot of friends in the racing world. I felt the company deserved the benefit of the doubt based on its long past. Sounds like it made things right by those customers affected. Should they be punished for doing so, or praised for doing so?
Saw Naveen for the first time in a long time this morning, and barely recognized him. Met his brother, and their desire to run the business as their father did is clear.
Yes, there are a lot of Porsche dealers out there. But, when we decided to hold Rare Shades 3 in Florida, Champion was a natural for three reasons: Its longtime status as a #1 volume dealer, its motorsport history, its support of 000, and its enthusiasm for the hobby.
You have to pay a fee to display a car at many events, and usually quite a bit more than $40. There are costs associated with organizing Rare Shades, and the goodie bag provided to entrants contains items with a retail value that exceeds the $40 registration fee...
Last edited by stout; 04-05-2019 at 09:31 PM.
04-05-2019, 09:49 PM
#2004
Gosh. I spent around two hours reading this thread, it being such an off-the-wall occurrence. My primary thought at this point is whether any entity will be pursuing Champion itself. From the crazy number of pages I read it appears abundantly clear that they were aware of SS's activities. Seems impossible to (reasonably) argue otherwise, given that they were the ones reducing his paycheck by 25% as a result of the Amex lawsuit and they were also directly involved with the 911 that was sold for 500+k and never delivered. Hence, clearly in the know.
However, who or what is motivated to go after them and for what? If the 25 wannabe owners are reimbursed and made to be "happy" is that the end? I guess it's not a criminal event to knowingly keep a definitively identified scumbag on the payroll. So ... just curious if the enablers of the whole thing are somehow going to sidestep any legal proceedings against them.
However, who or what is motivated to go after them and for what? If the 25 wannabe owners are reimbursed and made to be "happy" is that the end? I guess it's not a criminal event to knowingly keep a definitively identified scumbag on the payroll. So ... just curious if the enablers of the whole thing are somehow going to sidestep any legal proceedings against them.
04-05-2019, 10:02 PM
#2005
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I lived in South Florida for 7 years. This doesn't surprise me at all. Some of the crookedest people in the world live there.
The worst of all are the local government officials, judges, and many police officers. Many of them are no more than common thugs.
The worst of all are the local government officials, judges, and many police officers. Many of them are no more than common thugs.
04-05-2019, 10:14 PM
#2006
Rennlist Member
Miami and Chicago have a lot in common.
04-05-2019, 10:23 PM
#2007
Intermediate
Join Date: Mar 2018
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04-05-2019, 10:43 PM
#2008
Drifting
Speculation, no? We haven't seen any evidence to support that.
When we announced 000, Dave Maraj was the first person to reach out about advertising in the magazine. I think the email arrived the day after we announced, or maybe two days after. Needless to say, I was surprised and honored by that...as Maraj had been a stalwart supporter of Excellence for many years. His belief was that print mattered, and he supported our hobby in many ways, including his continual support of motorsport to the end. When I arrived at a pit garage in Le Mans last year, the team was adding Champion logos to a 911 and the walls of the garage...Dave Maraj didn't have to support that American effort, but did so.
Yes, there are a lot of Porsche dealers out there. But, when we decided to hold Rare Shades 3 in Florida, Champion was a natural for three reasons: Its longtime status as a #1 volume dealer, its motorsport history, its support of 000, and its enthusiasm for the hobby.
When we announced 000, Dave Maraj was the first person to reach out about advertising in the magazine. I think the email arrived the day after we announced, or maybe two days after. Needless to say, I was surprised and honored by that...as Maraj had been a stalwart supporter of Excellence for many years. His belief was that print mattered, and he supported our hobby in many ways, including his continual support of motorsport to the end. When I arrived at a pit garage in Le Mans last year, the team was adding Champion logos to a 911 and the walls of the garage...Dave Maraj didn't have to support that American effort, but did so.
Yes, there are a lot of Porsche dealers out there. But, when we decided to hold Rare Shades 3 in Florida, Champion was a natural for three reasons: Its longtime status as a #1 volume dealer, its motorsport history, its support of 000, and its enthusiasm for the hobby.
Please don’t whitewash this for Champion. They sell a lot of cars (so what?), have supported Porsche Motorsport at the highest levels for decades, but there is no way in hell the Maraj family was unaware of SS’s behavior.
Gosh. I spent around two hours reading this thread, it being such an off-the-wall occurrence. My primary thought at this point is whether any entity will be pursuing Champion itself. From the crazy number of pages I read it appears abundantly clear that they were aware of SS's activities. Seems impossible to (reasonably) argue otherwise, given that they were the ones reducing his paycheck by 25% as a result of the Amex lawsuit and they were also directly involved with the 911 that was sold for 500+k and never delivered. Hence, clearly in the know.
However, who or what is motivated to go after them and for what? If the 25 wannabe owners are reimbursed and made to be "happy" is that the end? I guess it's not a criminal event to knowingly keep a definitively identified scumbag on the payroll. So ... just curious if the enablers of the whole thing are somehow going to sidestep any legal proceedings against them.
However, who or what is motivated to go after them and for what? If the 25 wannabe owners are reimbursed and made to be "happy" is that the end? I guess it's not a criminal event to knowingly keep a definitively identified scumbag on the payroll. So ... just curious if the enablers of the whole thing are somehow going to sidestep any legal proceedings against them.
04-05-2019, 10:55 PM
#2009
Event is tomorrow, and we spent the afternoon at Champion mapping out the layout—I think it's going to be a nice morning, and look forward to meeting those who are coming!
As for timing of Sookralli's arrest, we couldn't have had much of an effect on that. I remember the climate here on RL when the scandal broke, and my take then was simple: Champion had always set a high standard of professionalism in my dealings with them at Excellence, a standard I saw continue with 000. Ditto for a lot of friends in the racing world. I felt the company deserved the benefit of the doubt based on its long past. Sounds like it made things right by those customers affected. Should they be punished for doing so, or praised for doing so?
Saw Naveen for the first time in a long time this morning, and barely recognized him. Met his brother, and their desire to run the business as their father did is clear.
Speculation, no? We haven't seen any evidence to support that.
When we announced 000, Dave Maraj was the first person to reach out about advertising in the magazine. I think the email arrived the day after we announced, or maybe two days after. Needless to say, I was surprised and honored by that...as Maraj had been a stalwart supporter of Excellence for many years. His belief was that print mattered, and he supported our hobby in many ways, including his continual support of motorsport to the end. When I arrived at a pit garage in Le Mans last year, the team was adding Champion logos to a 911 and the walls of the garage...Dave Maraj didn't have to support that American effort, but did so.
Yes, there are a lot of Porsche dealers out there. But, when we decided to hold Rare Shades 3 in Florida, Champion was a natural for three reasons: Its longtime status as a #1 volume dealer, its motorsport history, its support of 000, and its enthusiasm for the hobby.
You have to pay a fee to display a car at many events, and usually quite a bit more than $40. There are costs associated with organizing Rare Shades, and the goodie bag provided to entrants contains items with a retail value that exceeds the $40 registration fee...
As for timing of Sookralli's arrest, we couldn't have had much of an effect on that. I remember the climate here on RL when the scandal broke, and my take then was simple: Champion had always set a high standard of professionalism in my dealings with them at Excellence, a standard I saw continue with 000. Ditto for a lot of friends in the racing world. I felt the company deserved the benefit of the doubt based on its long past. Sounds like it made things right by those customers affected. Should they be punished for doing so, or praised for doing so?
Saw Naveen for the first time in a long time this morning, and barely recognized him. Met his brother, and their desire to run the business as their father did is clear.
Speculation, no? We haven't seen any evidence to support that.
When we announced 000, Dave Maraj was the first person to reach out about advertising in the magazine. I think the email arrived the day after we announced, or maybe two days after. Needless to say, I was surprised and honored by that...as Maraj had been a stalwart supporter of Excellence for many years. His belief was that print mattered, and he supported our hobby in many ways, including his continual support of motorsport to the end. When I arrived at a pit garage in Le Mans last year, the team was adding Champion logos to a 911 and the walls of the garage...Dave Maraj didn't have to support that American effort, but did so.
Yes, there are a lot of Porsche dealers out there. But, when we decided to hold Rare Shades 3 in Florida, Champion was a natural for three reasons: Its longtime status as a #1 volume dealer, its motorsport history, its support of 000, and its enthusiasm for the hobby.
You have to pay a fee to display a car at many events, and usually quite a bit more than $40. There are costs associated with organizing Rare Shades, and the goodie bag provided to entrants contains items with a retail value that exceeds the $40 registration fee...
04-05-2019, 11:07 PM
#2010
[QUOTE=Guest89;15754327]Haven’t seen any evidence?
Please don’t whitewash this for Champion. They sell a lot of cars (so what?), have supported Porsche Motorsport at the highest levels for decades, but there is no way in hell the Maraj family was unaware of SS’s behavior.
Please don’t whitewash this for Champion. They sell a lot of cars (so what?), have supported Porsche Motorsport at the highest levels for decades, but there is no way in hell the Maraj family was unaware of SS’s behavior.