Investigation into failed car dealership expands

CASTLE ROCK - More angry customers are demanding to know what happened to their cars, their cash and the man behind Castle Pines Auto Sport, a high-end dealership that is now closed.

Castle Rock Police have collected 29 complaints alleging the dealership did not pay off loans on trade-in vehicles, sold non-existent extended warranties and sold cars for which the dealership did not own a title.

Castle Rock Police are conducting a joint investigation with the Auto Industry Division of the Colorado Department of Revenue.

"We're looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars here and we don't know when the counts going to stop," said Lt. Douglas Ernst.

Ernst says Wayne Weaver of Castle Rock, the operator of the dealership, is a "person of interest" in their investigation which, Ernst says, could lead to felony charges including theft, defrauding a secured creditor and equity skimming of an automobile.

Investigators have not found Weaver. The phone answering system at the shuttered dealership says it is full and cannot accept new messages. Weaver's cell phone voicemail provides a similar message. No one answered the door at his home in Castle Rock Tuesday afternoon. A call to his attorney in Colorado Springs was not returned. Calls to three other dealership employees were also not returned.

9NEWS was able to speak with Keith Nichols, who identified himself as a former part-time employee of Castle Pines Auto Sport.

"I knew he [Weaver] was operating on a shoestring," said Nichols.

"It was a nasty place," Nichols said. "I wouldn't recommend it to a dog."

"I wish he was man enough to show up and take care of his problem, but he's not," said Greg Adams, a customer who claims he lost $54,000 to Weaver.

"He knew what he was doing," Adams said. "I'm not the first one. I wasn't the last one."

The dealership on Park Street has been dark for a week. Last week, customers say creditors came and repossessed all the cars left on the lot.

Investigators say some customers who purchased a vehicle from Castle Pines Auto Sport are now finding they cannot get a title because it was never purchased from a financing company as claimed by the dealership.

Kimberly Reffel is one such customer. She says she cut a $24,000 check to Weaver for an Acura SUV.

"That check has cleared. He's got the money and I have no way of obtaining a free and clear title to my car," she said. "I trusted him and maybe I shouldn't have done that."

Numerous other customers have told 9NEWS that Weaver did not pay off liens on vehicles they traded in, leaving them responsible for both loans and without their original vehicle.

With Weaver's whereabouts unknown, several customers have asked if they might recoup some of their losses from the dealership's investors.

The dealership is owned by Castle Rock Auto Sport, LLC. Department of Revenue records identify the managers of the LLC as Weaver and another party, Michael Steinke.

Steinke is better known by his radio name, Michael Floorwax. He is a co-host of the Lewis & Floorwax morning show on 103.5FM The Fox.

Calls to Steinke/Floorwax were referred to his attorney, Peter Schaffer, who said Steinke is an investor in Castle Pines Auto Sport LLC, but would not disclose the extent of his ownership.

Schaffer said Steinke was unaware of any possible wrongdoing at the dealership and did not have day-to-day management responsibilities there. Schaffer said Steinke is a victim of the dealership's demise along with disgruntled car buyers.

The dealership's financial troubles also include an ongoing lawsuit filed by a former employee, John Andrews, who is seeking $27,000 in back wages.

Castle Pines Auto Sport was a member of the Colorado Independent Auto Dealers Association until March when Weaver stopped paying membership dues, according to the group. The dealership was put on suspension by the Better Business Bureau after a 9NEWS report on the investigation Tuesday.