Blaine auto broker pays $430,000 in settlement with U.S. Department of Justice

A Blaine auto broker will pay $430,000 to the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a lawsuit settling allegations that the company committed federal fraud by underreporting the value of vehicles it imported to avoid paying higher duty fees.

BidBuy Auctions LLC owner Whitney McElroy agreed to pay $430,000 to resolve claims that it purchased trucks in Canada and cited lowered values when importing them into the U.S., according to a February 7 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Western Washington. The company did not admit to wrongdoing under the terms of the settlement.

BidBuy has offices in Blaine and Surrey that serve customers from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., according to the company website.

Former employee Scott Hausman filed a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging false claims on behalf of the government, wrote Hausman’s attorney Stephen Teller, of Teller Law, in an email to The Northern Light. As a whistleblower, Hausman will receive 23 percent of the $430,000 settlement, or nearly $99,000, according to the release.

One example in the lawsuit showed BidBuy purchased a 2011 Dodge Ram truck for nearly $22,500 U.S. dollars but reported it as $9,600 U.S. dollars to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, saving BidBuy about $3,200 in duties. The lawsuit alleges BidBuy underreported over 80 vehicles.

In 2020, duties on imported foreign-made trucks increased 25 percent when the U.S. exited the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and entered the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“This conduct doesn’t just cheat the government out of revenue, it gives the business an advantage not enjoyed by other auto brokers who report their vehicle values honestly,” U.S. attorney Nick Brown said in a statement. “This is an expensive lesson for BidBuy – one that could have been avoided if it followed the rules.”

The settled amount was based on the company’s finances and

BidBuy has five years to make payments, according to the press release.

Friday of every month. The next meeting on Friday, February 17 will go over “Being a Human” by Charles Foster.

“Initially, when we started the programs, it felt like people were more hesitant coming out,” Jaite said. “But in the last six months there’s definitely an increase in people coming to the programs.”