Fargo Comes To Life In Flint Michigan

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 11/24/2015 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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Perhaps seeing one movie too many, a used car proprietor in Flint, Michigan, is accused of running a Fargo -style scam on Ally Financial.

Remember how the scam worked in the movie? The dealer buys cars with a line of credit from a bank where the inventory acts as collateral for the loan. The agreement is that the dealer will pay back some of the loan each time he sells a car and can borrow more money when he buys a car.

The deal works for everyone if the dealer manages to sell the cars for more than he bought them and pays the bank promptly.

The scam involves the dealer not paying the bank back when cars have been sold or putting non-existent cars in inventory.

In the movies, dealers can get away with this by sending fake paperwork to the bank because Hollywood banks don’t do as many audits as they ought to.

Turns out Ally Financial checked some of the paperwork sent to them by Edward Frank Usewick III for some of the cars he claimed to have in inventory at the chain of dealers he was affiliated with near Flint. While this little operation is funny when the Coen Brothers do it, in real life it is a different matter. As in, Federal indictment different.

Usewick has been indicted on 20 counts - things with words like “fraud” and “conspiracy” - and the accusations are not pretty. Everyone has lawyered-up as they say, including his wife, even though she has not been charged with anything. Turns out that the dealers run by Usewick were “operated” by LLCs owned by Cheyenne Usewick.

To add a layer to this onion, the used car dealers had been using the name of a local car dealer named Suski to lend credibility to their operation. Suski had agreed to let Usewick do this but changed its mind somewhere along the way.

So now, Usewick and Suski are suing each other. Some might wonder what Suski was thinking, getting into business with Usewick in the first place. In February 2011, he !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of “producing fraudulent titles for the commission of a crime.”

Usewick is out on bond with a trial date set for January. Woodchipper jokes go below.

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Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.

450X_FTW > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:14

22

I was worried it was going to be too much Fargo and involve a woodchipper. Glad they stopped at the scam part.

jackywacky > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:15

12

But did those non-existent cars come with the TruKote?

Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:15

3

The heck ya mean?

muttons > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:16

1

I watched Fargo. As the tragic situation unfolded and got worse and worse, I never once thought, “This is funny!” It’s quirky and the accents stick with you long after you watch it, but I’d never describe it as funny.

SteveLehto > jackywacky 11/24/2015 at 09:17

13

I’m pretty sure they did. You really need that. I mean, I’m doing you a favor here by not letting you buy the car without it.

SteveLehto > Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles 11/24/2015 at 09:17

2

You’re darn tootin’.

Bunty Brown > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:18

4

I too thought this might involve more than just a paper scam. Glad nobody was shot in the face or fed to a wood chipper.

SteveLehto > muttons 11/24/2015 at 09:19

16

I believe they call it a Dark Comedy.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:20

2

Ha. I lived in flint when I went to college. Can confirm both dealers named here are.....low in quality. I think patsy lou is still the scummiewt though due to ties with a corrupt asshat of a mayor we used to have.

muttons > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:20

1

Yeah I know, I just found it more dark than comedy. Not a criticism, just my own take on it.

SteveLehto > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 11/24/2015 at 09:21

0

I lived in GB for years and also worked in Flint for a while. I concur with your assessment.

SteveLehto > muttons 11/24/2015 at 09:21

0

I agree. I know people who idolize the Coens but I find the movies disconverting on some levels.

gla2yyz > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:22

4

I was hoping for some Trucoat-related swindle.

308GTS > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:22

22

He told the bank the collateral was a Bugatti. The bank replied “pretty sure that's a Lambo, dude."

SteveLehto > gla2yyz 11/24/2015 at 09:23

3

Happens so often it woudn’t qualify as newsworthy.

Chris Zimmer > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:24

0

I wish they’d leave Usewick’s wife out of it. Being named Cheyenne is punishment enough. If that isn’t a low budget amateur porn star’s name, I don’t know what is.

David E. Davis > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:25

2

SteveLehto > Chris Zimmer 11/24/2015 at 09:27

2

She’d need to change the last name too.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:28

0

Now we know why GM killed Oldsmobile

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:29

49

Two years ago, my wife brought home “Peppermint Peeps” around Christmas.

I called them “Woodchipper Peeps” when she opened them.

They went uneaten.

JSWilson64_g > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:33

8

The Coens failed to convert you, then?

SteveLehto > JSWilson64_g 11/24/2015 at 09:35

0

Yeah, I never quite got it. I liked a few of the films but some I could not figure out what the fuss was about.

LodestarRunner > jackywacky 11/24/2015 at 09:39

0

They put that on at the factory.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:39

0

A guy in west Michigan did this with boats a decade or so ago. Made a ton of money doing it because apparently boats in Michigan don’t have titles, and people were to lazy to see if the boats actually existed.. Made out with something like $30 million before he was caught.

Country Mac's Ocular Patdown > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:40

2

I wonder if he asked the officer if “we could settle this here, in Flint.”

(Image won’t load, but imagine Steve Buscemi saying, “Officer, could we settle this right here in Brainerd?”)

DipodomysDeserti > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:42

10

SteveLehto > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 11/24/2015 at 09:42

0

I saw a documentary on that guy on MSNBC. I love watching those shows. Amazing how far some of them can get before they get caught.

SteveLehto > Country Mac's Ocular Patdown 11/24/2015 at 09:43

1

Let’s just say he did.

Country Mac's Ocular Patdown > muttons 11/24/2015 at 09:45

0

Funny Parts:

-Where the girls describe Steve Buscemi as the funny looking guy

-Where the Asian guy tries to hook up with the pregnant cop

-Scene where Buscemi tries to bribe the cop

adamrice > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:46

1

There was also this scam: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/09/dealer…

SteveLehto > adamrice 11/24/2015 at 09:46

0

That one was amazing.

Jake! Elwood! > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:48

4

As a kid, I saw Men at Work listed as a “black comedy”. Made me think that a comedy with at least one black actor (Keith David, not to be confused with David Keith) was a black comedy. “Looks like somebody threw away a perfectly good white boy!”

fiero2m488 > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:49

2

Maybe they were just disconcerting. However, there is something about trying to mentally process disconverting that is unsettling to me.

muttons > Country Mac's Ocular Patdown 11/24/2015 at 09:50

2

Yes. It had its moments. I actually liked the movie and talked like I was from Wisconsin for about a week after seeing it. I also liked extremely pregnant Marge Gunderson’s interactions with just about everyone. She was what made all the darkness bearable.

Everything involving Jerry and his inability to make a single good decision just made me sad, however.

Pickup_man > muttons 11/24/2015 at 09:52

1

I think the level of funniness could also depend on where you’re from. I’m from the upper midwest (South Dakota) and everyone I know who has seen it thinks it’s funny, although not hilarious. I think it has a lot to do with the accents, behaviors, and quirks of the characters, because even though they’re a little exaggerated, these behaviors and quirks are true, and very relatable for those of us in the area. It’s not so much that the plot or story is funny, it’s those little inside jokes that we laugh at.

cognitivedissident > jackywacky 11/24/2015 at 09:54

0

That True-Kote, they put that on at the factory.

HughMagnusJohnson > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 09:58

6

Well, we’ve never done this before. But seeing as it’s special circumstances and all, he says I can knock a hundred dollars off that Trucoat

DudeRudy > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:01

19

Well, heck, if you wanna play games here! I’m workin’ with ya on this thing, but I... Okay, I’ll do a damned lot count!

HughMagnusJohnson > Jake! Elwood! 11/24/2015 at 10:01

0

the “threw away a perfectly good white boy” line is from Better off Dead, not Men at Work, jsyk.

AZRCD > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:04

3

One of the best sceens in movies is when he’s selling the rust coating to the couple!

Sharaz Jek > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:07

3

I’m cooperating, here!

R.S.D. > adamrice 11/24/2015 at 10:07

0

Wow. That took some serious testicular fortitude.

B Reynolds > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:11

2

Off topic but not that far off: if you have not seen Fargo the show on fx you are missing out

SteveLehto > B Reynolds 11/24/2015 at 10:13

0

I haven’t seen it yet but I have seen ads for it. I’ll check it out one of these days.

Hooneriphic > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:24

1

Operated by his wife to attain minority owner status?

SteveLehto > Hooneriphic 11/24/2015 at 10:28

2

I suspect it was more about the fact that he had a criminal record and the state department that oversees dealer licenses won’t give them to people with records.

It’s a common practice.

Tina Belcher > DudeRudy 11/24/2015 at 10:30

0

gonna need those VINs

Tina Belcher > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:31

3

usedick?

dustynnguyendood > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:37

2

Ally didn’t buy that Usewick had 11 Cieras on the lot there then?

Excellent police work there, Ally!

450X_FTW > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 11/24/2015 at 10:38

0

There’s something about an adult woman with pigtails in her billboards on 75 that just bother me, can’t figure it out

dustynnguyendood > HughMagnusJohnson 11/24/2015 at 10:39

1

Actually - it’s in both, jsyk.

Z4M > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:43

2

Need that trucoat!

shitheelandtoe > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 10:48

1

Was that the scam in the movie? I always thought he was claiming that cars had been sold and financed. Then he was pocketing the money that GMAC sent for the supposedly financed car.

Calli Arcale > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 11/24/2015 at 10:50

1

Hey, that’s a great idea for getting to have them all to yourself! (Would not work in my family, alas, as we all have pretty twisted senses of humor.)

DuddyKravitz > Country Mac's Ocular Patdown 11/24/2015 at 10:52

3

Also gold:

- Scene where Marge questions Jerry in his office

- All scenes of Marge and Norm Gunderson’s domestic life

- The scenes where Wade Gustafson shoots down Jerry’s plan to collect the ransom money and insists on doing it his way.

Christ, I can’t believe I’m here trying to explain why Fargo is funny.

Trivia: Those murders from the film actually happened, just not in Minnesota.

Country Mac's Ocular Patdown > DuddyKravitz 11/24/2015 at 10:53

0

Isn’t Fargo in North Dakota?

EvenBaggierTrousers > Country Mac's Ocular Patdown 11/24/2015 at 10:53

3

Other (darkly?) funny parts:

Where Marge catches the crook shoving part of an unshoed foot into the chipper.

Where the two crooks and the women are all having sex and seconds later when they’re just all sitting in bed watching Carson (I think it was Carson).

The opening line in the movie: “This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.”When actually NONE of it is true.

EvenBaggierTrousers > DipodomysDeserti 11/24/2015 at 10:54

2

I was SO hoping this included a “Well, like, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.” line. :)

Country Mac's Ocular Patdown > EvenBaggierTrousers 11/24/2015 at 10:55

2

Calling fake stuff a true story is a great move. It instantly makes everything more interesting.

DuddyKravitz > Country Mac's Ocular Patdown 11/24/2015 at 10:58

1

Oop. Yeah it is. I had Minnesota on my mind because I’d just finished reading about how the Cohen’s set the film in the Midwest because THEY are from Minnesota. Thanks for catching that!

SteveLehto > shitheelandtoe 11/24/2015 at 10:59

1

I think that would be harder to pull off. A car that is financed shows up in the state’s DMV records with a lienholder and notices are sent to the lender etc. The way they are accused of doing it here, there is simply a discrepancy between how many cars they claim to have in their inventory and how many they actually have. Takes someone to come in and actually count the cars and compare the VINs to the ones on the paper. A whole lot of walking around and stuff.

Country Mac's Ocular Patdown > DuddyKravitz 11/24/2015 at 10:59

0

To be fair, I think the movie is named Fargo and the scenes take place in Minnesota (or at least parts of it do).

DuddyKravitz > Country Mac's Ocular Patdown 11/24/2015 at 11:01

0

Could be. Just now I’m so confused and need more coffee.

shitheelandtoe > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 11:12

1

I believe you...I had misunderstood the movie scam and only realized that after reading your post. Now I understand Marge Gunderson’s question about inventory too. Enlightening! I need to go back and watch again.

Marc22 > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 11:27

1

God, I love living in this city. Never a dull moment.

SteveLehto > shitheelandtoe 11/24/2015 at 11:32

0

No problem. I remember watching the movie and thinking it was a very realistic and easy scam. Made me wonder why it didn’t happen more often.

SteveLehto > Marc22 11/24/2015 at 11:34

0

It is becoming the Florida of the North.

StingrayJake > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 11:49

2

shop-teacher > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 12:17

2

A friend of mine spent much of the 90’s working for GMAC. Among the things he did during his time there, was audit the inventory of dealers in person (I believe this was called floor planning). Apparently a lot of dealers played fast and loose with this. Usually when a car could not be found, the dealer would claim it was “out on an extended test drive”.

There was a very high correlation between the type of dealership that preyed on the uneducated buyers and had terrible customer service, and the dealers who played fast and loose with what cars had or had not been sold.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 11/24/2015 at 12:34

0

I would have eaten them...

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > muttons 11/24/2015 at 12:42

0

The kidnapping scene with how she’s running with the shower curtain is kind of funny...

Mr. Underhill > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 11/24/2015 at 12:46

3

Guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > muttons 11/24/2015 at 12:50

1

I don’t know where you hail from, so Iwon’t make any assumptions, but for me the interactions in the movie are hilariously pointed at the behavior of the Northern-Midwesterner. I grew up among it and it is hysterically accurate satire of how a tragically terrible scenario would play out among the “Minnesota Nice” crowd.

It’s dark as hell, which it has to be, because even at it’s darkest the interactions are kept cordial and people who have zero experience with how full-on crazy their world has gotten are still trying to be kind and present an ideal face to their neighbors.

For that it is absolutely brilliant.

Jake! Elwood! > HughMagnusJohnson 11/24/2015 at 13:25

0

Apparently it was used in both movies then...Youtube.

RWDPLZ > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 13:27

0

I thought this was going to be about the undercoat and paint protection so many Michigan dealers scribble onto the window sticker.

SteveLehto > RWDPLZ 11/24/2015 at 13:28

0

Too common to be news.

Buckus > HughMagnusJohnson 11/24/2015 at 13:43

0

You see, the thing is...they put that on at the factory. There’s nothing I can do.

muttons > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 11/24/2015 at 13:44

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Well, I live in Michigan. But Detroit is its own form of “dark comedy” right now. It’s almost funny how bad it has gotten in places but the sadness just overwhelms it. But like Fargo, it can be brilliant in its way.

But no, I get where you are coming from. The best aspect of the movie is the reaction of the locals to all the dire things that are happening.

HughMagnusJohnson > dustynnguyendood 11/24/2015 at 13:47

0

a thousand apologies. And I love Men at Work. Guess its time to watch it again

Buckus > gla2yyz 11/24/2015 at 13:50

0

“You’re a goddamn Liar, Mr. Lundegaard. Where’s my checkbook?”

sklooner > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 14:27

1

When I worked in lending I was appalled that we would give advance notice before doing lot visits- I went unannounced didn’t find any fraud but sloppy paperwork, one guy I was really suspicious of as I was sure something wasn’t right as he was always having difficulties finding inventory but I never found anything amiss. I found out later he wasn’t defrauding us but the buyers by selling the same units repeatedly and then renting them out- he had the purchasers get financing and until he started missing the rent payments he didn’t get caught. I expect to see this in Alberta very soon with the oil industry losing jobs like crazy

LyleLanley > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 15:16

2

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > muttons 11/24/2015 at 15:55

0

Having lived in Kalamazoo and spending enough time in Detroit (Go Wings) I will say, Detroit is certainly its own animal that must be experienced to be believed.

I get back to Detroit minimum once a year, specifically for the Tour De Troit in September, but I try to get back (I’m in NJ now) for a game every season.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 16:47

1

The biggest example of this I’ve heard about happened in Long Island, to the tune of six billion dollars:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/09/dealer…

tophatt77 > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 17:32

1

Reminded me of this gem of a story from TTAC a couple months back...as you mention below Steve it does seem easy to pull off a scam like this.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/09/dealer…

dustynnguyendood > HughMagnusJohnson 11/24/2015 at 18:04

1

As punishment - you must do the nasty.

colorfulyawn > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 19:04

2

Based on a true story. It's just that the true story hadn't happened yet when the movie was written.

ranwhenparked > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 20:30

0

The story in Fargo was actually inspired by true events, specifically, John McNamara, of McNamara Pontiac-Buick in Port Jefferson, New York.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McNa…

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-06-07/tra…

Taking advantage of the internal chaos at GM during Roger Smith’s ill-fated “First 21st Century Corporation” modernization drive, he swindled GMAC out of over $430 million. McNamara used totally forged VINs to get loans for thousands of nonexistant conversion vans, and used the cash to invest in a whole mess of new business ventures. Like any Ponzi scheme, it eventually collapsed under its own weight.

Amazingly, the whole scheme went on for 11 years before anyone at GMAC thought to question it. By the end, McNamara was claiming to be buying and exporting 53% of all conversion vans produced in the United States annually.

SteveLehto > ranwhenparked 11/24/2015 at 20:51

0

I’ve heard of that case but never heard it inspired anything in the movie.

ranwhenparked > SteveLehto 11/24/2015 at 21:06

0

The Coen brothers have never come right out and said that’s what inspired them, but its long been speculated. Fargo ’s script was written in 1994, McNamara’s trial was in 1992, and it was pretty big news at the time, since it was one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever at that point, with a total borrowed value of over $6 billion. Its pretty circumstantial, but the two schemes are so close, and its not like there was any other well known fake VIN GMAC fraud scheme going on at the time.

ranwhenparked > AZRCD 11/24/2015 at 22:30

0

See, they install that at the factory, there’s nothing we can do.

TomIcemanKazanski > Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles 11/25/2015 at 01:03

1

Shep said “7:30”

TomIcemanKazanski > jackywacky 11/25/2015 at 01:05

0

These guys here. These guys. It’s always the same. It’s always more.

SteveLehto > ranwhenparked 11/25/2015 at 07:57

0

The VIN scam is actually quite common. It’s true that the McNamara case was big news but it is a very different type of ripoff than what Fargo depicted. And technically, neither of them is a “Ponzi” scheme, although that is irrelevant since I don’t think Fargo ever called it one.

AZRCD > ranwhenparked 11/25/2015 at 09:10

0

I couldn’t find the sceene on youtube. Just the audio.

HughMagnusJohnson > dustynnguyendood 11/25/2015 at 09:52

0

recent public admissions aside, thats not a nice thing to call Charlie Sheen

PyramidHat > 450X_FTW 11/25/2015 at 17:48

0

But, appropriately, one of the guys was funny looking...

PyramidHat > Sharaz Jek 11/25/2015 at 17:49

1

No no...you gotta chop the final “g”: I’m cooperatin’, here!

TomMetcalf > 308GTS 11/26/2015 at 12:48

0

And then they can blame rogue pelicans for why the cars aren’t in inventory.