Former Owner of Classic Cars of New England Sentenced to 33 Months in Jail

Topics:  Stephen Lussier, Classic Cars of New England

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire
May 18, 2009

CONCORD, NH—Acting United States United States Attorney Michael Gunnison and Warren Bamford, the Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that Stephen Lussier, a resident of Bedford, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 33 months in prison and ordered to make restitution payments totaling more than $800,000.

Lussier was part-owner and vice president of Classic Cars of New England (CCNE). From its former location in Merrimack, New Hampshire, CCNE conducted the consignment sale of classic cars. Lussier was also the part-owner and vice president of another entity, Karzman Credit Corporation.

When Lussier pleaded guilty to bank fraud and wire fraud charges last February, he admitted that he helped some of CCNE’s customers obtain loans from Sovereign Bank, a federally insured financial institution, and New World Lease Funding, LLC, a privately-owned finance company in Long Island, New York. The proceeds of the loans were deposited to one of Karzman’s bank accounts. Lussier should have used the money (minus a fee it was entitled to) to purchase automobiles which served as the lenders’ collateral. In 2007 and 2008, proceeds from thirty secured automobile loans, totaling more than $670,000, were deposited to Karzman’s bank accounts. Instead of using that money to purchase automobiles, Lussier used the money to pay some of CCNE’s and Karzman’s accumulating business expenses.

Lussier also failed to disclose the sale of 8 automobiles to consignment customers of CCNE, and used the proceeds from those transactions, more than $128,000, to pay some of CCNE’s and Karzman’s debts. Lussier also provided false information about the automobiles during interstate telephone conversations he had with three of the consignment customers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Kinsella prosecuted this case.