(Cleveland) – Former Cleveland auto dealer Mitch Simpson was arrested Tuesday at his home in Habersham County by Georgia Department of Revenue Agents. The arrests followed complaints by customers after the dealership, located south of Cleveland, closed suddenly, earlier this year leaving vehicle purchasers without paperwork to register the vehicles and obtain tags.
White County Sheriff’s Capt. Rick Kelley says the state agents charged Simpson with three felony counts of theft by conversion.
The alleged offenses involve a host of car buyers in multiple counties.
WSB–TV in Atlanta reports that agents said Tuesday’s arrest is just a small part of a “very large, complex theft and finance investigation.”
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Josh Waites, the Department of Revenue’s director of special investigations said his department is working with the dealership’s bonding company and the attorney general’s office to get the customers’ taxes paid and their vehicles registered.
This is not the first time Simpson has faced serious charges. In 2011 he was indicted for making false statements in loan applications as part of a federal investigation into the now defunct Community Bank and Trust.
Simpson was booked in the White County jail. No bond was set.
