WLWT: Greater Cincinnati residents sued for old car debt; discrepancies found in lawsuits

A growing number of Cincinnati residents are learning they have car trouble in the courts. They are being sued for thousands of dollars for cars many say they do not own.

A WLWT investigation found that the problem stemmed from used cars purchases five to 10 years ago. Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati found hundreds of lawsuits filed between 2019 and 2022, stemming from old vehicle debt for cars allegedly purchased from Cincinnati dealership Alford Motors. Several years ago, the dealership sold some of its old accounts to two companies, ADLP Investments, LLC and DBC Holdings, who went on to sue many of the debtors to collect outstanding balances.

Many of the people being sued reached out to the Hamilton County Help Center for assistance. UC Law’s Rob Wall, director of the Help Center—a partnership between the College of Law and the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts—said “A number of these people, they had already lost the case without even knowing that they had been sued. When you start to see people with the same story over and over again, that's when it really solidifies in your mind. There may be a real issue here."

The Help Center started referring people to Legal Aid, who began to investigate. They found similar recuring errors across the cases, such as suspicious entries for payments debtors said they did not make. To date, Legal Aid has helped more than 25 people sued by ADLP Investments, LLC and DBL Holdings, for debt purchased from Alford Motors. Legal Aid also has filed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General’s office. Because of the discrepancies in the accounts and in the lawsuits, Legal Aid believes Ohio’s consumer protection laws may have been violated.

Watch the investigative report “Greater Cincinnati residents sued for old car debt; discrepancies found in lawsuits” for the full story.   

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