GT car / Salesman - Shiraaz Sookralli - Champion Porsche's VP of Marketing
10-13-2018, 05:16 PM
#1846
Race Director
Let's give them the benefit of the doubt. We aren't sure how many outstanding cases there are, and with these "MSRP" deals they're also offering. The true measure of their handling of this won't be known until we hear from those affected.
Many of these are floating the "deposit" until their car comes in I'm sure.
Many of these are floating the "deposit" until their car comes in I'm sure.
10-13-2018, 05:35 PM
#1847
Law enforcement will not involve itself in the civil side of a reported incident, nothing new here.
Criminal and civil proceedings are separate.
As to the involvement of Attorney General, FDLE and the FBI, those agencies will assist upon valid requests but would likely defer to the local agency with jurisdiction for the investigation, they have their own case load. This isn't TV, building a case doesn't happen overnight. If they were to become involved, the investigation would have to take its course no matter what and would include the Sheriff's Office.
As to the victims in this case, do make a complaint to the Sheriff's Office, as nothing will happen for you if you don't. Also contacting an attorney and having them write a letter to the Champion legal reps outlining your claim can't hurt.
Also, victims need to be prepared to sign away legal recourse against Champion owners and employees if you accept a settlement.
Criminal and civil proceedings are separate.
As to the involvement of Attorney General, FDLE and the FBI, those agencies will assist upon valid requests but would likely defer to the local agency with jurisdiction for the investigation, they have their own case load. This isn't TV, building a case doesn't happen overnight. If they were to become involved, the investigation would have to take its course no matter what and would include the Sheriff's Office.
As to the victims in this case, do make a complaint to the Sheriff's Office, as nothing will happen for you if you don't. Also contacting an attorney and having them write a letter to the Champion legal reps outlining your claim can't hurt.
Also, victims need to be prepared to sign away legal recourse against Champion owners and employees if you accept a settlement.
10-13-2018, 06:58 PM
#1848
Not likely they have $2.5 million of excess liquid cash around to just write checks on, more likely the owners had to contribute additional capital to cover it. I’ll bet the delay is simply due procedural, ie, the lawyers are doing forensic work to make sure every claim is valid and documented, and that everyone gets treated equally. The transfer of claim stuff is standard for situations like this where one party is paying off claims owed by a third party.
10-14-2018, 01:06 AM
#1849
Track Day
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Holy cow dudes! I was at the Boca Resort this evening having dinner with family, and what did we spot out back at the dock? Champion Porsche's deceased/drowned owner Dave Maraj's sailboat 24 Heures, named after the 24 hours of Lemans that he won back in 2005.. You can see the Champion logo on the sailboat and the Porsche logo too.
Very eery to retrace Dave's steps the night he drowned there in that very spot on July 22. He was inside drinking at the Bar Luna just 100 feet from his boat just inside the door to the building, he excused himself to go to the bathroom, and was never seen alive again. Police Divers found his body floating under his boat in this very spot 5 hours later.
So weird to think this man was only 100 feet away from the bar when he died just 5 minutes after excusing himself. We can't figure out why he did not use the restroom in the hall near Bar Luna. If he had, he would still be alive today.
Last edited by jeffostroff; 10-14-2018 at 01:38 AM.
10-14-2018, 02:15 AM
#1850
Thinking outside da' bun...
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Agree 101% with everything Jeff said. You must always assume nobody is working for your best interest but yourself. Never assume good intentions or promises. Over lost Tic Tacs is one thing, but this is for serious coin. The only way to ensure you are going to be covered in this is to be proactive and that means taking more of a bull in the china shop approach as opposed to killing everybody with kindness. In matter like this, kindness rarely gets you anywhere. Your job is to not make friends. Its to get your money back with no strings attached and in expeditious fashion.
Dealerships dont like bad press. It costs them more in sales than just about anything. When dealerships feel they are losing cash faster than making it -- and more importantly confidence and good-will -- they will solve those problems as quickly as possible to make them go away. Doesnt mean anyone needs to be a rude dyck on the phone or in person, but you will always clearly state your intentions and promises/voodoo magic arent going to make you go home and sit in a corner twiddling thumbs hoping your check arrives.
Good bad or indifferent, Champion Porsche employed this guy and allowed him to represent the company on their behalf and be front and center with dealership customers. Whether they knew it was happening or not is not even relevant. They are still responsible. The boss is always responsible for what employees do -- shyt always rolls uphill and its why the boss makes the big bucks -- because they have to eat this shyt sandwiches when everything hits the fan. And just because you take Jeff's advice and do what he suggests, doesnt mean you want to picket the dealership in your spare time or never do biz with them again. You might even elect to order another car from them if they handle everything in a first class manner and go above and beyond the call of duty -- which should be expected at this point. Applying that pressure to do the right thing however is not antagonistic to that end. You are just covering your bases. Perhaps the urge alone to do some of those things will get your matter resolved more quickly in order to avoid the additional baggage.
Dealerships are not in business to run charities. If they can sell you a car for ADM with 10% interest on a 7yr note because of your stupidity, they will not get in the way of your ignorance. You must be your own best advocate at all times. Doesnt mean you hate anybody or want to throw away any well-vetted relationships at the dealership. It just means you're placing a greater value on your missing money than anyone else. Which is how it should be.
Dealerships dont like bad press. It costs them more in sales than just about anything. When dealerships feel they are losing cash faster than making it -- and more importantly confidence and good-will -- they will solve those problems as quickly as possible to make them go away. Doesnt mean anyone needs to be a rude dyck on the phone or in person, but you will always clearly state your intentions and promises/voodoo magic arent going to make you go home and sit in a corner twiddling thumbs hoping your check arrives.
Good bad or indifferent, Champion Porsche employed this guy and allowed him to represent the company on their behalf and be front and center with dealership customers. Whether they knew it was happening or not is not even relevant. They are still responsible. The boss is always responsible for what employees do -- shyt always rolls uphill and its why the boss makes the big bucks -- because they have to eat this shyt sandwiches when everything hits the fan. And just because you take Jeff's advice and do what he suggests, doesnt mean you want to picket the dealership in your spare time or never do biz with them again. You might even elect to order another car from them if they handle everything in a first class manner and go above and beyond the call of duty -- which should be expected at this point. Applying that pressure to do the right thing however is not antagonistic to that end. You are just covering your bases. Perhaps the urge alone to do some of those things will get your matter resolved more quickly in order to avoid the additional baggage.
Dealerships are not in business to run charities. If they can sell you a car for ADM with 10% interest on a 7yr note because of your stupidity, they will not get in the way of your ignorance. You must be your own best advocate at all times. Doesnt mean you hate anybody or want to throw away any well-vetted relationships at the dealership. It just means you're placing a greater value on your missing money than anyone else. Which is how it should be.
10-14-2018, 04:00 AM
#1851
Lots of speculations and extrapolations. In the end, there is no system that is immune to a bad employee working to abuse the system. The best one could hope for is how the victims can be made whole again as quickly as possible. In that regard I wanted to share my personal experience with Champion Porsche.
I had an allocation for a GT3 / Touring for a November build slot. The SA I was working with was great. There was no dancing around, everything was very transparent and the $15k ADM was definitely on the lower side of what the market rate was. I was very clear to them that I was still considering an RS and requested to be on the list if something comes up. I ended up finding an RS elsewhere around the time the scam was unfolding but also had a buddy willing to take my touring allocation. Champion made it very clear that they could not give the allocation to another individual because their priority was to compensate the fraud victims. In the end I got my deposit back, getting an RS and hopefully get one of the victims an allocation. Based on this, I do think they are trying to do the right thing.
I had an allocation for a GT3 / Touring for a November build slot. The SA I was working with was great. There was no dancing around, everything was very transparent and the $15k ADM was definitely on the lower side of what the market rate was. I was very clear to them that I was still considering an RS and requested to be on the list if something comes up. I ended up finding an RS elsewhere around the time the scam was unfolding but also had a buddy willing to take my touring allocation. Champion made it very clear that they could not give the allocation to another individual because their priority was to compensate the fraud victims. In the end I got my deposit back, getting an RS and hopefully get one of the victims an allocation. Based on this, I do think they are trying to do the right thing.
10-14-2018, 04:05 AM
#1852
Three Wheelin'
If it were my business and I'd promised refunds by 12 Oct and then I realised I wasn't going to make that then I'd have been making grovelling phone calls to each customer a few days ago not refusing to pick up the phone.
10-14-2018, 11:16 AM
#1853
Race Director
Originally Posted by jeffostroff
Holy cow dudes! I was at the Boca Resort this evening having dinner with family, and what did we spot out back at the dock? Champion Porsche's deceased/drowned owner Dave Maraj's sailboat 24 Heures, named after the 24 hours of Lemans that he won back in 2005.. You can see the Champion logo on the sailboat and the Porsche logo too.
Very eery to retrace Dave's steps the night he drowned there in that very spot on July 22. He was inside drinking at the Bar Luna just 100 feet from his boat just inside the door to the building, he excused himself to go to the bathroom, and was never seen alive again. Police Divers found his body floating under his boat in this very spot 5 hours later.
So weird to think this man was only 100 feet away from the bar when he died just 5 minutes after excusing himself. We can't figure out why he did not use the restroom in the hall near Bar Luna. If he had, he would still be alive today.
Wow, amazing you were able to retrace the scene there and that the boat is still docked there. Seems very suspicious and unfortunate. Have only heard good things about Dave Maraj.
Last edited by STG; 10-14-2018 at 11:46 AM.
10-14-2018, 11:45 AM
#1854
Cyrek, sounds like you ignored my previous advice here a few weeks ago. Don't take any legal advice from Champion's Lawyers, and don't sit around waiting for what we all know will be smoke screens and no responses.
The cops are not working for you, no one is working for you but you! The only person looking out for you is you....and me!
So YOU must get off your butt and take action now, every day puts you further and further away from your money.
First of all I am very miffed that a search of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Warrants Shows no arrest warrant for Sookralli’s arrest, I thought that would be a no brainner, but then again the cops down here have no brains, and many sergeants in Broward Sheriffs have left due to morale after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre revealed massive failure on their part
This lack of a search warrant says to me Broward Sheriff is treating this as a civil matter, not a criminal matter, so ASAP…. YOU must turn this into a criminal matter. Could they be any more stupid! There should be a warrant out a month ago for Suck-Rally to be arrested!
You must vigorously pursue criminal charges at this point, that is the only thing that will light a fire under their butts.
Champion Porsche and their smoke screen lawyers may be able to ignore YOU, but they cannot ignore the Better Business Bureau and they cannot ignore the Floriduh Attorney General either, and both act pretty quickly once you file your complaint online.
Here is my 8 step strategy I am telling you to do right this second.
Start this process today right now as soon as you finish reading this:
1) Go to BBB.com and file a complaint here: https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complai...nt/get-started
2) Cut and paste your BBB complaint to a complaint with the Florida State Attorney General's office online here: http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.ns...tizen_Services
3) Call the Miami office of FBI and start a criminal complaint against both Champion Porsche and SookRalli (754) 703-2000, get a case number. The number of victims and $2.5 million dollar amount meets the minimum required to investigate. Don’t let them usher you away, get a CASE #!
4) Call the Broward Sheriff’s Office and start a formal criminal complaint against Champion Porsche and SookRalli with the Pompano Beach Division (954) 786-4201, and YOU start a criminal investigation, get a CASE #!
5) Call the Secret Service Miami to complain of money laundering and start a criminal complaint
Phone: 305-863-5000. get a CASE #!
6) Contact local news stations near Champion Porsche and talk to consumer reporters about this crime, and if they air your story, this will put added pressure on Champion to pay you back. Wplg.com (ABC), WSVN.com “Help Me Howard” (Fox) NBCMiami.com (NBC). This can be very powerful, and we often see their stories where businesses pay up on the spot.
7) Get a lawyer and file against Champion immediately in Broward County Court, if they had any intentions of paying you back, it they would have done so the day it all hit the fan, instead of hiding behind a smoke screen attorney. It has been a month already and no check? Sounds to me like these clowns are stalling, so don’t you let them stall you and control the conversation. YOU control the conversation from here on in with criminal charges, and complaints, and stories from the news. I have a producer from Channel 10 I know who was looking at my blog post, I’m sure they’d love to talk to victims directly.
The quicker it looks like you are pursuing criminal charges against Champion Porsche, the quicker you might see a refund from them. This might help ensure they were not just blowing hot air when they said they plan to reimburse buyers for their losses.
8) Contact Bank of America and ask for their fraud department and start a complaint with them.
Always get names of every person you speak with no matter what agency, don't take no for an answer, insist upon a case #, but the important thing here is to vigorously pursue criminal charges at this point.
I hope this helps you, let us know what you encounter, but please follow my 8 steps above now.
The cops are not working for you, no one is working for you but you! The only person looking out for you is you....and me!
So YOU must get off your butt and take action now, every day puts you further and further away from your money.
First of all I am very miffed that a search of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Warrants Shows no arrest warrant for Sookralli’s arrest, I thought that would be a no brainner, but then again the cops down here have no brains, and many sergeants in Broward Sheriffs have left due to morale after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre revealed massive failure on their part
This lack of a search warrant says to me Broward Sheriff is treating this as a civil matter, not a criminal matter, so ASAP…. YOU must turn this into a criminal matter. Could they be any more stupid! There should be a warrant out a month ago for Suck-Rally to be arrested!
You must vigorously pursue criminal charges at this point, that is the only thing that will light a fire under their butts.
Champion Porsche and their smoke screen lawyers may be able to ignore YOU, but they cannot ignore the Better Business Bureau and they cannot ignore the Floriduh Attorney General either, and both act pretty quickly once you file your complaint online.
Here is my 8 step strategy I am telling you to do right this second.
Start this process today right now as soon as you finish reading this:
1) Go to BBB.com and file a complaint here: https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complai...nt/get-started
2) Cut and paste your BBB complaint to a complaint with the Florida State Attorney General's office online here: http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.ns...tizen_Services
3) Call the Miami office of FBI and start a criminal complaint against both Champion Porsche and SookRalli (754) 703-2000, get a case number. The number of victims and $2.5 million dollar amount meets the minimum required to investigate. Don’t let them usher you away, get a CASE #!
4) Call the Broward Sheriff’s Office and start a formal criminal complaint against Champion Porsche and SookRalli with the Pompano Beach Division (954) 786-4201, and YOU start a criminal investigation, get a CASE #!
5) Call the Secret Service Miami to complain of money laundering and start a criminal complaint
Phone: 305-863-5000. get a CASE #!
6) Contact local news stations near Champion Porsche and talk to consumer reporters about this crime, and if they air your story, this will put added pressure on Champion to pay you back. Wplg.com (ABC), WSVN.com “Help Me Howard” (Fox) NBCMiami.com (NBC). This can be very powerful, and we often see their stories where businesses pay up on the spot.
7) Get a lawyer and file against Champion immediately in Broward County Court, if they had any intentions of paying you back, it they would have done so the day it all hit the fan, instead of hiding behind a smoke screen attorney. It has been a month already and no check? Sounds to me like these clowns are stalling, so don’t you let them stall you and control the conversation. YOU control the conversation from here on in with criminal charges, and complaints, and stories from the news. I have a producer from Channel 10 I know who was looking at my blog post, I’m sure they’d love to talk to victims directly.
The quicker it looks like you are pursuing criminal charges against Champion Porsche, the quicker you might see a refund from them. This might help ensure they were not just blowing hot air when they said they plan to reimburse buyers for their losses.
8) Contact Bank of America and ask for their fraud department and start a complaint with them.
Always get names of every person you speak with no matter what agency, don't take no for an answer, insist upon a case #, but the important thing here is to vigorously pursue criminal charges at this point.
I hope this helps you, let us know what you encounter, but please follow my 8 steps above now.
thanks jeff your right I should have listen to you sooner and I will start tomorrow!
10-14-2018, 11:53 AM
#1855
Race Director
Originally Posted by BSO
Law enforcement will not involve itself in the civil side of a reported incident, nothing new here.
Criminal and civil proceedings are separate.
As to the involvement of Attorney General, FDLE and the FBI, those agencies will assist upon valid requests but would likely defer to the local agency with jurisdiction for the investigation, they have their own case load. This isn't TV, building a case doesn't happen overnight. If they were to become involved, the investigation would have to take its course no matter what and would include the Sheriff's Office.
As to the victims in this case, do make a complaint to the Sheriff's Office, as nothing will happen for you if you don't. Also contacting an attorney and having them write a letter to the Champion legal reps outlining your claim can't hurt.
Also, victims need to be prepared to sign away legal recourse against Champion owners and employees if you accept a settlement.
Criminal and civil proceedings are separate.
As to the involvement of Attorney General, FDLE and the FBI, those agencies will assist upon valid requests but would likely defer to the local agency with jurisdiction for the investigation, they have their own case load. This isn't TV, building a case doesn't happen overnight. If they were to become involved, the investigation would have to take its course no matter what and would include the Sheriff's Office.
As to the victims in this case, do make a complaint to the Sheriff's Office, as nothing will happen for you if you don't. Also contacting an attorney and having them write a letter to the Champion legal reps outlining your claim can't hurt.
Also, victims need to be prepared to sign away legal recourse against Champion owners and employees if you accept a settlement.
Why would Champion file a Civil case vs. a Criminal one? There's a lot of scammed customers and a lot of money involved here. I assume to keep this all under the radar.
How are they able to now keep it "confidential"? Probably easy with a civil case vs criminal one?
I think Champions best case scenario is to settle with all customers ASAP and have them sign a non disclosure and sign away any future recourse.
It's pretty sad that Shiraaz will be able to get away with this without a warrant for his arrest even being issued. If it's not even a criminal case, he has no chance of even seeing jail time correct?
10-14-2018, 12:08 PM
#1856
Rennlist Member
Interesting marketing. I believe he won LeMans in an Audi.
He sold the Audi store a few years back allegedly after having issues w Audi.
I have known Dave since the 80's. He was a tough businessman but legit as far as I could tell.
He sold the Audi store a few years back allegedly after having issues w Audi.
I have known Dave since the 80's. He was a tough businessman but legit as far as I could tell.
10-14-2018, 12:10 PM
#1857
Rennlist Member
Join Date: May 2012
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10-14-2018, 12:23 PM
#1858
Race Director
Originally Posted by IPSA
Interesting marketing. I believe he won LeMans in an Audi.
He sold the Audi store a few years back allegedly after having issues w Audi.
I have known Dave since the 80's. He was a tough businessman but legit as far as I could tell.
He sold the Audi store a few years back allegedly after having issues w Audi.
I have known Dave since the 80's. He was a tough businessman but legit as far as I could tell.
Correct ..
10-14-2018, 12:26 PM
#1859
Race Director
Originally Posted by Manifold
He's a marked man at this point, with most of his prior social ties presumably severed, which may not be much better than being in jail.
Ask any guy in jail where he'd rather be, in there or a chance to run off somewhere with $2.5MM and start a new life
10-14-2018, 01:54 PM
#1860
Three Wheelin'
