COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A state investigation released Tuesday into the sales of cars to Ohio State athletes or their families found no wrongdoing on the parts of two car dealers who sold the vehicles. The report by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles found the dealerships made money on 24 of 25 sales that took place between 2006 and 2010; the other car had been sitting on the lot for more than 150 days. The investigation came amid the scandal at Ohio State that saw coach Jim Tressel resign and star quarterback Terrelle Pryor bolt to the NFL. "Today's report from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles supports the sworn statements two Columbus auto dealers provided us that the manner in which they conducted sales with Ohio State student athletes and their families adhered to university and NCAA rules," Doug Archie, Ohio State's compliance chief, said in a statement. The investigation stemmed from a May 7 story in the Columbus Dispatch that reported several OSU athletes and their relatives had bought used cars from Jack Maxton Chevrolet and Auto Direct in Columbus during the past five years. The story also said that Aaron Kniffin, a former salesman at the dealerships, had been involved in a number of those sales. State investigators checked each of the transactions, reviewing the dealers' sales files, certificates of title, power of attorney forms and records pertaining to prior ownerships, according to the report. The investigators also reviewed business records from the dealerships that showed the wholesale prices that they paid for the cars sold to OSU athletes or their families, the report said. Those records indicated that Auto Direct made money on all 10 cars sold and that none of the buyers paid wholesale price or less, the report said. Jack Maxton made money on 14 of the 15 cars it sold to the athletes or their families. According to the report, the only car that the dealer lost money on had been sitting on its lot for more than 150 days. The report said that during the course of the investigation, allegations had been made that some of the purchase agreements signed by Ohio State players or their family members didn't reflect the true cost because the athletes provided the dealers with tickets or sports memorabilia in exchange for cash. "We found no evidence in the dealers' business records that tickets and/or sports memorabilia were included in the sales, and the dealers and their legal counsel contend that the allegations are false," the report said. Kniffin said in an interview the report confirms what he has said for months: His dealings with Ohio State athletes were no different than any of the thousands of other customers he has served over the years. "It's just a shame that I had to be dragged through the mud," he said. Larry James, the Columbus attorney who represented Pryor in recent months, sent documents Tuesday to Ohio State's compliance office over Pryor's cars. While in Columbus, the quarterback drove three cars, two that he bought at a dealer in Pennsylvania. James included records involving the purchase of a black, Nissan 350Z that Pryor's mother bought for her son in May from Auto Direct. The car, with 74,703 miles on it, cost $11,135, after a trade-in. "Jason Goss, owner of Auto Direct, has repeatedly stated that Mr. Pryor was not given preferential treatment or special benefits," James wrote to the compliance office. "He treated Terrelle Pryor as he does all customers." The purchase of the Nissan 350Z was not one of the sales the state investigated, as it came late last month, well after the probe began. The investigation involved sales from 2006 to 2010. But the car became a lightning rod when television cameras captured Pryor driving it out in a parking lot soon after Tressel resigned. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/06/state_bmv_finds_no_wrongdoing.html
