Accused of selling hurricane-damaged vehicles without telling customers, the owners of a former Chevy dealership in Stuart have inked a settlement with the state attorney general’s office.

Attorney General Bill McCollum announced last week that the onetime owners of John Jochem Chevrolet Inc. will pay $46,000 in restitution to about 48 customers. Other affected buyers have until mid-July to claim a portion of the money.

McCollum’s office started investigating the company in March 2006, after receiving a complaint from a customer who bought a car without knowing it was damaged during Hurricane Wilma.

John Jochem, the founder and principal owner of the dealership, died of cancer in 2005. His widow, Hope Jochem, agreed to pay the restitution and $70,000 in legal fees, according to McCollum’s office.

The Jochem family sold the 40-year-old auto dealership in 2006 to The Suburban Collection.

Tags: Bill McCollum, car, hurricanes, John Jochem, money, settlement, Stuart

This entry was posted on Monday, May 18th, 2009 at 9:48 am and is filed under Economy, Martin County, Stuart, Treasure Coast business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.