CW: Fraud
Last month, federal authorities announced that a used car salesman in Philadelphia accepted customers’ money but failed to deliver the wheelchair-accessible vehicles they had purchased, scamming more than 100 people throughout the country. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia, Edward Scott Rock, 47, scammed clients out of more than $2.5 million between 2019 and 2023.
In one case, he sold the identical 2017 Ford wheelchair-accessible van to 13 different buyers for nearly a year, collecting $260,000 in the process – and when he finally delivered the vehicle to one of those buyers, it arrived without the correct title, resulting in a lawsuit.
The alleged scam affected 120 clients across 36 states. According to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office, approximately two-thirds of Rock’s victims were people with a physical or mobility disability, people over the age of 65, or businesses that provided transportation services to those populations.
David Sodemann, co-founder of Boho Camper Vans, a Tempe, Arizona-based firm that builds, rents, and sells camper vans, wired Rock $25,000 for two Ford cargo vans. When the vehicles did not come a few months later, Sodemann demanded a refund.
Rock ultimately repaid the money after nearly two years of near-daily phone calls and the involvement of a lawyer, according to Sodemann.
According to the indictment, many people were not so fortunate. Prosecutors said that after negotiating with Rock – sometimes in person, but more often over phone, email, and text – customers would pay Rock tens of thousands of dollars for wheelchair-accessible vans he never delivered.
The indictment stated that Rock occasionally submitted refund checks, but he would halt payment, or they would bounce.
Rock was charged with three charges of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one case of mail fraud involving a financial institution. The charges entail a potential prison sentence of 170 years. Prosecutors want restitution as well.
Living with a disability is expensive. According to the National Disability Institute, researchers estimate that households containing an adult with a disability require, on average, 28 percent more income (or an additional $17,690 a year for a family at the median income level) to obtain the same standard of living as a comparable household without a member with a disability.
A wheelchair van can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000, depending on the manufacturer, model, and amenities included. In comparison, in 2022, the average price of a used car in the United States was $33,000. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average cost of a new car was $49,507.
Mr. Rock did much more than scam people out of their hard-earned money. He also took away the chance for people who needed them to get an accessible van. Mr. Rock should receive an appropriate punishment for taking advantage of so many vulnerable people.
Sources:
Bartlett, Jeff S., and Todd Young. “Worst Deals on New Cars Right Now.” Consumer Reports, Consumer Reports, 12 Jan. 2023, https://www.consumerreports.org/buying-a-car/worst-deals-on-new-cars-a3991316773/.
“Converting vs Purchasing a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle.” Ability Center, Ability Center, 16 May 2022, https://www.braunability.com/abilitycenter/blog/convert-wheelchair-van-vs-purchase-wheelchair-van/.
Goodman, Nanette, et al. “The Extra Costs of Living with a Disability in the U.S. — Resetting the Policy Table.” National Disability Institute, National Disability Institute, Oct. 2020, http://www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/extra-costs-living-with-disability-brief.pdf.
Rubinkam, Michael. “Used Car Dealer Sold Wheelchair-Accessible Vans but Took His Disabled Customers for a Ride, Feds Say.” AP News, AP News, 21 Dec. 2023, apnews.com/article/philadelphia-multistate-vehicle-fraud-87768ad152ed452b0da5dd7caa6e2899.