A.G. Schneiderman Announces Settlements With 104 Auto Dealerships To Provide Notice Of Dangerous Safety Defects

Investigation By AG’s Office Found Hundreds Of Vehicles Had Been Sold With Serious Safety Recall Issues, Including Unintended Acceleration, Airbag Problems, Vehicle Fires, Steering And Brake Loss, And More

AG’s Settlement Requires Dealers To Provide Consumers With Notice Of Vehicles’ Safety Defects Prior To Purchase

  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced today that he reached settlements with 104 auto dealerships that sold vehicles to New Yorkers without disclosing that the vehicles were under recall for dangerous unrepaired safety issues such as unintended acceleration, airbag problems, vehicle fires, steering and brake loss, and more. The settlement requires the auto dealers to provide consumers with advance notice of any existing and unrepaired recall, among other measures.

An investigation by the AG’s office found that while many prospective car buyers reasonably assume that any known and existing safety issues have been repaired or disclosed by the dealer, that is often not the reality of car buying in New York. As part of its investigation, the Attorney General’s office surveyed advertisements, monitored vehicles covered by safety recalls, and identified auto dealers that advertised vehicles with unrepaired safety recalls.

As part of the settlements, the participating auto dealers are required to adhere to a set of guidelines in order to alert consumers that their vehicles may have unrepaired recalls, including the following:  

• Dealers that advertise used vehicles online must include information that enables consumers to check the recall status of advertised vehicles; that information includes the SaferCar.gov website operated by NHTSA.
• Dealers who advertise in print or other media must also disclose in the advertisement that the vehicle is subject to a safety recall.  
• Dealers must place a decal notice in the window of used cars that include information that allows consumers to check the recall status of the vehicles, including the SaferCar.gov website and mobile application operated by NHTSA.
• Two days prior to any sale, dealers must provide consumers with a copy of the NHTSA recall status report for a vehicle with an unrepaired safety recall, and obtain a written acknowledgment from the consumer.
• Dealers must send notices to customers who have purchased vehicles with unrepaired safety recalls that are still unrepaired, from January 2016 to present. Manufacturers’ franchise dealers must also cover up to five days of a loaner car for consumers if their vehicle requires repairs that will take longer than one day.
• Each auto dealer will also pay a fine of $1,000 to New York State.

“The safety recalls we uncovered were serious — and potentially deadly," said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Consumers deserve to know of any unresolved safety issues before buying a car for themselves or their family. I am pleased that thanks to our investigation and today's settlement, more New Yorkers will finally receive the critical safety information they need to make an informed decision. I encourage all auto-dealerships across the state to follow our guidelines to ensure that they too uphold the highest standards of consumer safety. This is an important first step towards making all cars on New York’s roads safer.”

Under Federal Law, used car dealers, as well as new car dealers who sell used cars from unrelated auto makers, are required to either have a manufacturer authorized repair person on their premises or transport the vehicle to a dealer related to the vehicle’s maker to have the recall work done.

The Attorney General’s office investigation is ongoing.

Consumers who purchased vehicles after January 1, 2016 who believe they have possibly unrepaired safety recalls should contact the Attorney General’s office at 1-800-771-7755 or via web form at https://ag.NY.gov/complaint-forms.

Consumers can check the recall status of your vehicle by entering its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the NHTSA website https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls.

The list of 104 dealerships is as follows, broken down by the OAG regional offices that reached the settlements.

BINGHAMTON REGIONAL OFFICE – 15

1. Butler Auto Sales
   304 State Highway 7, Sidney, NY

2. Chambers & O’Hara Truck Center, Inc.
   268 State Highway 7, Sidney, NY

3. North Norwich Motors & Trailer Sales, LLC
   7044 State Highway 12, North Norwich, NY

4. SHB Associates LLC (Serafini Nissan Volvo)
   3103 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, NY

5. VanDervort Service Center, Inc.
   1694 State Route 26, Vestal, NY

6. Ridge Road Imports, LLC
   2025 East Shore Dr., Lansing, NY

7. Milller Motor Car Corp (2 Dealerships)
   4477 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, NY

8. Royal Ford Motors, Inc./Royal Chrysler Motors, Inc. (2 Dealerships)
   3964 Waverly Rd, Owego, NY

9. Gault Auto Mall, Inc. (3 Dealerships)
   North St., Endicott, NY

10. Gene Balmer’s Auto Sales
    400 South Walnut St., Elmira, NY

11. Jeff Kies Auto Sales, Inc.
    8768 Route 434, Apalachin, NY

BROOKLYN REGIONAL OFFICE – 2

1. Compass Luxor
2. Hamilton Avenue Auto Sales

BUFFALO REGIONAL OFFICE - 12

1. Basil Ford, Inc
2. SCGA Holdings, LLC DBA Castilone Chrysler Dodge Jeep & Ram
3. CrazyCheapCars, Inc
4. Northtown Automotive Companies, Inc
5. Landmark Chevrolet, Inc
6. Olean Class Cars, Inc
7. Ontario Sales, Inc
8. Pellegrino Auto Sales, LLC
9. Riverfront Auto Sales, Inc
10. Shults Management Group, Inc
11. Superior Auto Sales, Inc
12. V&A Enterprises, Inc DBA Buffalo Auto Group

HARLEM REGIONAL OFFICE – 4

1. Best Auto Group
   4053 Boston Rd, Bronx, NY

2. Boston Road Best Motors
   4064 Boston Road, Bronx, NY

3. New York Motors Group Solutions
   2803 A Boston Road Bronx, NY 10469

4. Manhattan Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram
   678 Eleventh Avenue New York, NY 10019

NASSAU REGIONAL OFFICE – 1

1. LA Auto Sales

POUGHKEEPSIE REGIONAL OFFICE – 5

1. Hudson Valley Auto Sales
2. Ruge’s Automotive, Inc. (2 Dealerships)
3. Autos by Joseph, Inc.
4. Frank Siena Auto Sales, Inc.

ROCHESTER REGIONAL OFFICE – 16

1. Auction Direct USA, L.P.
2. Best Value Auto
3. Cavallaro Neubauer Chevrolet Buick:
4. Doan Buick, Inc.
5. Doan Chevrolet, LLC
6. Doan Kia
7. Good Buy Auto
8. J & J Auto, Inc"
9. Pioneer Truck Sales, Inc.
10. Pool Auto Sales, Inc.
11. Ralph Honda
12. Santa Motors, Inc
13. Stone Road Auto Inc
14. Tiffany Transportation Services, Ltd
15. Websmart Auto, Inc.
16. Websmart Imports

SYRACUSE REGIONAL OFFICE – 25

1. Bill Rapp, Inc (2 Dealerships)
2. Bridgeland Auto Brokers
3. Cortland Used Cars
4. Liverpool World Car, LLC
5. Par-K Enterprises
6. TDK Property Company of Oneida, LLC
7. TDK Property Co. LLC
8. TRK-2 Operating Company, LLC (3 Dealerships)
9. Tecforce Automotive, LLC
10. Drivers Village, Inc. (13 Dealerships)

WATERTOWN REGIONAL OFFICE – (15)

1. FX Caprara Dealerships (14 Dealerships)
2. Waite Motor Sales, Inc.

WESTCHESTER REGIONAL OFFICE (8)

1. JC Lopez Auto Sales Corp.
   305 Willet Avenue, Port Chester, NY 10573

2. Croton Auto Park
   1 Municipal Place, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520

3. New Rochelle Chevrolet, Inc.
   291 Main Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801

4. The Rivera Auto Group, Inc. d/b/a Rivera Toyota
   325 N. Bedford Road, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549

5. Rockland Motors, Inc.
   85 Route 303 North, West Nyack, NY 10994

6. Rye Subaru
   1175 Boston Post Road, Rye, NY 10580

7. Saw Mill Auto Sales
   12 Worth Street, Yonkers, NY 10701

8. Westchester Auto Exchange Inc.
   2311 Crompond Road, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10523

OVERALL TOTAL – 104

A.G. Announces Indictment Of Brooklyn Dentist For Allegedly Billing Medicaid For Dental Work Performed By Unlicensed Individuals

Joseph Shyknevsky Is Alleged To Have Hired At Least Four Unlicensed Individuals To Act As Dentists

  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the indictment, arrest, and arraignment of Joseph Shyknevsky, 46, of Brooklyn, and four other individuals on charges related to an alleged scheme to defraud Medicaid. It is charged that Shyknevsky, a licensed dentist, hired individuals with no dental license, allowed them to perform dental work on Medicaid recipients, and billed the State for the dental work performed by those unlicensed individuals.

“Exploiting Medicaid by using unlicensed medical professionals not only drains the system of resources, it endangers the well-being of New Yorkers,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “New York has strong licensing requirements for healthcare, and those who think they can skirt these important safety rules will be held accountable.”

Prosecutors allege that, relying on the truth of Shynknevsky’s claims, Medicaid, either directly or through Managed Care providers, paid the Shyknevsky over $48,000 for dental work performed upon 110 Medicaid recipients by individuals who did not possess a license to practice dentistry.  A Kings County grand jury returned an indictment against Shyknevsky; his corporation, JS Atlantic Dental PC; and four unlicensed individuals whom Shyknevsky hired to practice dentistry:

• Ilya Zolotar, 50, of Staten Island;
• Konstantin Shtrambrand, 46, of Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania;
• Sergi Tolokolnikov, 57, of Staten Island; and
• Valerian Kverenchkhiladze, 43, of Brooklyn. 

Zolotar, Shtrambrand and Tolokolnikov were previously arrested by the Attorney General’s office in 2014 for allegedly performing complicated dental procedures on patients, including filing and root canals, without a proper license. The Attorney General’s Office captured some of these procedures on video surveillance.  The investigation into the alleged unlawful billing remained ongoing, which led to the indictment of Shyknevsky and his employees.

The Grand Jury charged each defendant with Healthcare Fraud in the Third Degree, a class “D” felony.  The indictment also charges Shyknevsky, his company J.S. Atlantic Dental P.C., Zolotar, and Shtrambrand with other related charges including Unauthorized Practice a Profession (Dentistry), Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree; and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, all of which are class “E” felonies.  The defendants pleaded not guilty when arraigned before Justice Suzanne Mondo of the New York State Supreme Court, Kings County and were released on their own recognizance.  If convicted, each defendant faces up to seven years’ incarceration. 

The Attorney General thanks Fidelis Care, DentaQuest, and United Healthcare of New York for the assistance they provided during the investigation.

The Attorney General also thanks the US Department of Health And Human Services—Office of the Inspector General for referring the investigation to our office.

The charges against the defendant are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

FORMER RIKERS ISLAND PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT INDICTED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE, RAPE AND RELATED CRIMES AGAINST INMATES

Defendant Offered Fast Food And Other Goods In Exchange For Sex Acts

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a former physician’s assistant employed by Corizon Health to work in a Rikers Island jail has been indicted on 43 counts of Rape, Sexual Abuse and related crimes for sexual acts allegedly committed against four inmates spanning more than a year. 

  District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly used his position of trust to sexually abuse female inmates who came to him seeking medical attention. We will prosecute any staff member who commits crimes against inmates in our push to stem corruption and fear in our jails.” 

  Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “This is the second arrest from DOI’s intensive investigation into sexual assault at Department of Correction facilities. As charged, this defendant exploited his position as a medical professional, soliciting sexual favors from his inmate patients in exchange for providing contraband. Our investigations into sexual assault at DOC facilities are continuing.” 

  District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Sidney Wilson, 60, of 6506 Avenue N, Brooklyn, was arraigned today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio. Bail was set at $7,500 and he is due back on July 18,2017. He was indicted on two counts of third degree Rape, two counts of third-degree Criminal Sexual Act, 12 counts of second-degree Sexual Abuse, 12 counts of third-degree Sexual Abuse, 13 counts of Official Misconduct, Forcible Touching and second-degree Promoting Prison Contraband. He faces up to four years in prison for each top charge.

  According to the investigation by DOI, between October 2013 and December 2014, Wilson exchanged items such as gum, socks and fast food for sexual acts from four female inmates housed at the Rose M. Singer Center. A person is incapable of consent to sexual acts if he or she is in the custody of a correctional facility. Wilson resigned from his job in 2015, unrelated to this case.

  The investigation was conducted by DOI’s Inspector General for DOC, under the supervision of Inspector General Jennifer Sculco, Associate Commissioner Paul Cronin, Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Michael Carroll and First Deputy Commissioner Lesley Brovner.

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

This Week at KRVC

Mark your Calendars for Two Events  this Week & Other Ones this Spring Coming Up Later this Spring: krvcdc.org/news krvcdc.org/events Also check out our community calendar! www.krvcdc.org

Ridgewood Savings Bank and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce invite you to attend a Free Small Business Financial Workshop

Bronx Council for Environmental Quality - Please ATTEND - Losing Public Parks - Tues 4.25

  Did you know that the City is proposing to use public parkland for private gain?

They want to give the people’s parkland to a private entity for a large mixed use complex for housing and commerce.

 

Come out Tuesday, April 25^th, 2017 

to share your concern and opinions!

Bronx Community Board 4 Public Hearing

Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Time: 6 pm – please, arrive early

Bronx Museum of the Arts.

1040 Grand Concourse (corner of 165^th St)

Bronx, NY 10456

Note: Please, arrive early as you have to sign in. Be prepared, you only have 2 minutes, bring a written statement.  Ask the Community Board to please vote against using waterfront parkland for housing and economic development.

 

Here are flyers in English and Spanish to share with your friends and neighbors:  http://www.bceq.org/2017/04/23/using-parkland-to-build-housing-only-in-the-bronx/

In addition to emails and phone calls, here is the beginning of some citywide news: http://sohojournal.com/content/Losing-Public-Parks

 

NEW SUNY CHANCELLOR CALLED ON TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY ISSUES

Statement from Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, Chair of the Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force on the selection of Kristina Johnson to be the next Chancellor of the State University of New York

“On behalf of the Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, I welcome Dr. Kristina M. Johnson to New York and wish her tremendous success in her new capacity as Chancellor of the State University of New York.  For over a decade, the Task Force has worked directly with SUNY chancellors, its Board of Directors and top staff to correct decades of neglect and disinterest in issues of diversity, minority student success, and inclusion. There are now over 123,000 minority students in SUNY and its 64 campuses are experiencing increased growth in minority student enrollment that will become the norm.

This collaboration has yielded considerable results which include:

·         the creation of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion;

·         the creation and adoption of the most ambitious and comprehensive diversity policy of any public college system;

·         the creation of the Hispanic Leadership Institute to address the absolute absence of Latinos in executive level positons on any of its 64 campuses;

·         co-hosting the Latino Leadership in Higher Education Summit;

·         the naming of the first Latino to a post of Vice Chancellor;

·         increased funding for the minority graduate fellowship program; and

·         a focus on improving the ranks of minority faculty and staff throughout the system.

We are grateful to Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, Board Chairman Carl McCall, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Dr. Alexander N. Cartwright and Vice Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Carlos Medina for the strong leadership they have exhibited in embracing and delivering on issues that spell success for our communities.

The SUNY Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has become a national model of best practices and has received national awards for its groundbreaking work. In addition, the recently adopted diversity policies by the Board of Trustees to improve inclusion and address the lack of minority faculty and professional staff are just now beginning to be fully implemented.

Unequivocal support for the full and forceful implementation of the adopted diversity policies, increased attention to the financial resources needed by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and expanding the capacity of the newly created Hispanic Leadership Institute are actions we look forward to seeing from Dr. Johnson.

The Task Force stands here as a resource and a partner in SUNY’s work to showcase the strength that diversity brings to academia, student success and our society as a whole. We look forward to working with the new chancellor on all these fronts.”

Bronx Borough President - Bronx Israel Independence Day Festival