Department of State takes action against Oakland County motorcycle dealership

Owner of Ducati of Detroit agrees to relinquish dealer license for fraud, public safety violations

LANSING, Mich. - On May 29, the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) suspended the license of CK Investments LLC, doing business as Ducati of Detroit, for imminent harm to the public. The motorcycle dealership is owned by Charles Knoll and located at 33828 Woodward Ave. in Birmingham.

Ducati was summarily suspended for several alleged violations of the Michigan Vehicle Code. The violations were discovered during an investigation by MDOS regulatory staff of underreported sales tax due to altered vehicle purchase prices. The investigation was initiated following a complaint from a former Ducati of Detroit employee.

The violations included:

• Committing fraudulent acts in connection with selling or otherwise dealing in vehicles where Ducati:
  • Collected sales tax on the full purchase price of vehicles from customers, altered the purchase price and sales tax collected, and remitted tax based on the reduced price to MDOS
  • Knowingly forged purchasers' signatures on Application for Michigan Title and Registration forms provided to MDOS
  • Altered the delivery date on Application for Michigan Title and Registration forms to avoid paying late fees
• Failing to provide records for inspection upon request during a complaint investigation at the established place of business during the business hours on file with MDOS
• Issuing temporary registration on a different date than when the vehicle was delivered
• Failing to correctly document the dates of purchase and/or Manufacturer Certificate of Origin invoice numbers for inventory required to be documented in the police book
• Failing to make application for title and registration in purchasers' names within 21 days of vehicle delivery

These violations created an ongoing imminent threat to the health, safety or welfare of the public, requiring emergency action.

The dealership's issues began in May 2017, when MDOS regulatory staff conducted a general compliance inspection. At that time, MDOS wrote Ducati violations for not submitting proper sales tax with the Application for Michigan Title and Registration forms and for fraudulent acts in connection with selling or otherwise dealing in vehicles.

MDOS issued a warning letter to Ducati citing these violations in March 2018. Subsequently, MDOS and Ducati representatives had a preliminary conference on June 21, 2023, to address violations related to an inspection on March 7, 2023. The violations included failure to properly complete and maintain records, failure to have records available, and failure to make application for title and registration in the purchaser's name within 21 days of delivery. MDOS provided Ducati with education and issued a warning letter regarding these violations.

Following the implementation of summary suspension, the licensee voluntarily agreed to a revocation of the dealer license in lieu of an administrative hearing. The revocation was implemented on Aug. 7, 2024. As part of the revocation agreement, Ducati admitted to violating the Michigan Vehicle Code and agreed to pay a financial penalty of $53,310.02 to cover monetary costs associated with the investigation and administrative costs the department incurred.

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