If you bought a Nissan Frontier or Titan Lift kit on Facebook, you got a great deal and helped a Nissan dealer's director of parts scam his employer $575,000 in free money and put it into his pocket. Check out this Nissan dealer's brazen employee scam.
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If it's too good to be true, it usually is.
Imagine buying a Nissan Frontier or Titan Lift kit on Facebook, thinking you've scored a great deal, only to find out you've unwittingly helped a Nissan dealer's director of parts pull off a brazen scam, pocketing a staggering $575,000 of his employer's money.
It was a grand scam a former director of parts and service at Formula Nissan in Barre, Vermont, pulled off. According to a report from Automotive News, Robert McLane posted Nissan Frontier and Titan lift kits on his private Facebook page and sold them to unsuspecting buyers.
Automotive News says, "McLane sold more than 200 lift kits, receiving payments through his personal PayPal account."
The Frontier and Titan lift kits were genuine Nissan factory parts, so buyers got a great deal.
According to AN, Robert McLane, the former director of parts and service at Formula Nissan in Barre, Vermont, is facing sentencing in December after pleading guilty to a mail fraud scheme that cost the dealership a substantial $575,000.
The report says McLane worked at Formula Nissan for five years. He managed the parts department, where he supervised employees and oversaw the ordering, receipt, and payment of automotive parts for the Vermont dealership.
The Formula Nissan parts director saw an opportunity to make easy money.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, between January 2021 and September 2022, McLane ordered the truck lift kits from Nissan North America that cost the Nissan dealer between $2,300 and $2,900 wholesale. Formula Nissan paid the invoices, thinking they would be sold to its truck customers.
McLane could get around the normal ordering system because he did not use Formula Nissan's dealership management software for these truck lift kit orders. By circumventing the system, he could avoid them being recorded in the dealership's normal parts department inventory.
There are plenty of buyers wanting this deal.
After the dealer received the kits, the part director was somehow able to take the kits from the dealer's parts department and then advertised the lift kits for sale on his private Facebook page. He had many buyers because he sold the Frontier and Titan lift kits below Formula Nissan's wholesale cost.
According to the U.S. attorney's office filing, McLane falsely claimed on his Facebook page that he could offer significant discounts because Formula Nissan had acquired the kits at dealership prices.
A double whammy for Formula Nissan.
This was a double blow for Formula Nissan, a dealership that was not only scammed out of a significant amount of money but also had its FedEx account misused by McLane for shipping the kits across the U.S.
I researched and found a Facebook post on August 29, 2024, advertising Nissan Titan lift kits for $2,500. The post says the retail price is $3,700. The post is from a legitimate company that does performance suspension work in Escondido, California.
Here is the Facebook post:
- For Sale:
- $2500 shipped ($3700 retail)
- (1) Complete Icon/Nissan Dealership 3" Lift Kit (Nissan Part Number T99PS9FT0J)
- *The ONLY lift kit guaranteed not to void Nissan Factory warranty*
- Kit includes:
- -Freshly rebuilt Icon coilovers (16-24 specific) with zero miles since rebuild (rebuild includes new seals, fresh oil and fresh nitrogen).
- -Rebuilt Icon upper arms with
- BRAND NEW Delta Joints installed.
- -BRAND NEW rear Icon shocks.
- -Used 1" Icon rear lift kit.
- -Delta Joint warranty card.
- -BRAND NEW bump stop extensions
- This kit is designed for the 16-24 Nissan Titan but will work on all 2004-24 Nissan Titan (Non-XD).
- Height adjustable from stock to 3" lift. Height can be adjusted while on the truck (no need for a spring compressor).
- Will DRAMATICALLY improve ride quality on and off-road, even while lifted!
- Located in Escondido, CA 92027
- Installation available.
- I accept PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, Apple Pay, Credit Card, or Cash for payment.
It's important to note that the suspension company may or may not have purchased the lower than retail priced kits from Robert McLane, but that has not been verified.
The report does not say how Formula Nissan discovered they were being scammed.
It does say that McLane signed a guilty plea in federal court in Burlington, Vermont. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine or double the amount the dealership lost due to the scheme, whichever is greater. McLane's sentencing is set for December 12, 2024.
Automotive News says they contacted Formula Nissan's owner for comment by phone and email but did not receive a response. McLane's attorney is Steven Barth, who also did not respond to requests for comment from AN.
What's up with Vermont car dealer employees?
I'm not sure what's going on in Vermont, but I recently reported that two Vermont Subaru dealership office managers embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars in two separate cases. One employee embezzled nearly $200,000, and the other stole $144,000 from another dealer in Vermont.
I am Denis Flierl, a Senior Torque News Reporter since 2012. My 30+ year tenure in the automotive industry, initially in a consulting role with every major car brand and later as a freelance journalist test-driving new vehicles, has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge. I specialize in reporting the latest automotive news and providing expert analysis on Subaru, which you'll find here, ensuring that you, as a reader, are always well-informed and up-to-date. Follow me on my X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.
Photo credit: Denis Flierl via Nissan
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