Bartow Auto Dealer Found Guilty of Fraud

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John Giovanetti, the former owner of Big Oaks Buick Pontiac GMC Inc. in Bartow Florida, was found guilty Monday by a federal court jury in Tampa on 11 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit both.

The Bartow car dealer stole more than $2.5 million by having two employees file bogus documents to receive financing from SunTrust.

Giovanetti, 52, known for his lavish lifestyle and love for boats, faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 30 years for each count of the wire and bank fraud counts. He also faces a fine of $2.25 million. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for May 12, said Steve Cole, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Giovanetti conspired with two former employees, controller Edward S. Littlejohn, and general manager Kelly S. Roth, to obtain funding from SunTrust to purchase additional vehicle inventory in 2004, according to an indictment handed up in August.

During several months in 2004, at least 12 fraudulent documents were submitted by the dealership to SunTrust, listing at least 44 vehicles for purchase that had already passed out of Big Oaks' inventory.

The money obtained from the bank were used in "the day-to-day operations of Big Oaks and to support the owner's lavish lifestyle," the indictment read.

Giovanetti's local popularity wasn't limited to car sales.

His community donations made after the 2004 hurricane season and love of power boating also gained him recognition.

He won races with his BigOaks.com 42-foot, 2,000-horsepower Fountain race boat. In 1999, 2001 and 2002, he won American Power Boat Association championships.

He became sole owner of Big Oaks, one of Polk's biggest auto dealerships, in 1998, and in the same year contracted with SunTrust to finance its vehicle purchases.

Before the trial, Littlejohn and Roth had agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and testified against Giovanetti in the case.

The charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud lodged against Littlejohn and Roth carried a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, three years' probation, and a special assessment of $100.

Their plea agreements stipulated that Littlejohn would forfeit $56,500, and Roth $85,000, their respective total salaries for 2004 from Big Oaks, which represent "the minimum amount of proceeds obtained by the defendant as a result of the offense."

A second dealership owned by Giovanetti, Big Oaks Car & Truck Center on Main Street in Lakeland, closed early in November 2004, and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection soon afterward, on Nov. 16.

The Bartow dealership was eventually bought at auction during a December 2006 hearing in Tampa by Michael Holley, who owns other car dealerships in Polk County.

Holley paid $3.6 million for the GM franchise and its assets, and was expected to pay between $3 million and $3.5 million for its inventory of vehicles.

Article Source: http://www.theledger.com/article/200...802120406/1039