BANGOR, Maine — A debt collector’s lawsuit against Glenn Geiser, former owner of closed Bangor used car dealership My Maine Ride, seeking overdue home mortgage payments has revealed Geiser owed more than $2.6 million to other creditors, including the Maine Revenue Service and the Internal Revenue Service.
The complaint for foreclosure against Geiser, 49, of Brewer was filed Dec. 30, 2014 at the Penobscot Judicial Center by Charles Boyle, attorney for legal firm Bendett & McHugh, which specializes in debt collection.
The debt collector is representing JP Chase Mortgage Co., which has foreclosed on Geiser’s home on Oak Grove Drive.
Geiser, who was suspended last year from owning a used car dealership for seven years after being sued by the Maine attorney general’s office for unfair and deceptive trade practices, said most of the items listed in the suit “have been taken care of.”
“There are only a few things left that I have to address,” Geiser said. He would not provide an exact amount of money still owed to his debtors, but he said it was “very small.”
According to the lawsuit, Geiser is in debt to the Maine Revenue Service, JP Morgan Chase Bank, the state’s bureau of unemployment, Central Maine Auction Center, RH Foster Energy, the Bangor Daily News, Monro Muffler Brake Inc., the Internal Revenue Service and several other individuals and other business entities.
“Those liens are for past due taxes,” Maine Revenue Service spokesman Alexander Willette said about the agency’s liens listed in the lawsuit against Geiser. “Apparently, the Maine Revenue Service found it was appropriate to file a lien.”
There are 23 Maine Revenue Service tax liens listed in the lawsuit dating back to 2002, with the latest one filed in June 2014, according to court paperwork. The total owed to the state’s for sales taxes or sales audits is $1,991,484, under listings for Geiser or one his three former used car companies: Wilson Street Automotive, My Maine Ride or Bumper2Bumper.
Two of the largest Maine Revenue Service liens — both over $900,000 — were filed in August 2013 and September 2013 and are listed as sales audits, according to data on file with the registry of deeds.
The August 2013 filing states $430,449 was owed in taxes, combined with $199,826 in penalties and $269,944 in interest to reach the total of $900,219 owed.
The September 2013 filing lists a total of $909,605, with $403,449 owed in back taxes, $199,852 in penalties and $279,304 interest.
Neither listing states a date when the past due sales taxes were calculated. Geiser, however, said the lawsuit does not tell the full story.
“I’m in full cooperation with the state, and a majority of everything listed there is paid,” Geiser said of the Maine Revenue Service amounts. “I am working with Maine Revenue, but [the total owed] is a far cry from the amount you listed.”
Curtis Kimball, a Rudman & Winchell attorney who represents one of the debtors, Hermon-based Central Maine Auction Center Inc., explained Friday that the total debt listed in the lawsuit is probably less than what is owed.
For example, the auction center, which specializes in vehicle auctions, is owed $417,320, according to the foreclosure lawsuit.
“I understand [some payments] have been made, but there is still a substantial amount outstanding,” said Kimball, who was not able to provide the exact amount still owed by Geiser.
In this type of foreclosure court filing, the debt collector “names all the junior lien holders … so when the house is sold, the buyer can get it free and clear,” the attorney said. “If [a lienholder] wants to stand in line for the money, which will be released in order of their recording [with the registry of deeds], they have to file a motion.”
The IRS is owed $109,569, according to the three federal tax liens, two filed in 2000 and one in 2001, against Geiser or his former business, Wilson Street Automotive, which operated at 617 Wilson St. in Brewer.
“The IRS is not permitted to discuss a particular or specific taxpayer’s tax matter or their taxes based on federal disclosure regulations and federal law,” Mark Hanson, IRS spokesman, said in an email. “As a general rule, the IRS does not comment on pending litigation.”
Geiser said the past due IRS amounts “have been addressed.” He added he never filed paperwork with the registry of deeds to have the liens released.
“I didn’t realize all that stuff was there,” he said of the multiple liens that list his name or former businesses on the registry of deeds.
In addition to the seven-year suspension from owning a car dealership, Geiser agreed in a settlement with the attorney general to reimburse consumers up to $30,000 for repairs to cars purchased from his dealerships, Bumper2Bumper Inc. and My Maine Ride.
A Waldoboro woman and a couple from Farmingdale also filed civil lawsuits against Geiser last year, claiming they were duped into buying faulty vehicles from him in 2013. Those cases are pending in court.
In a separate action, GEC Inc. of Bangor, also filed a $95,955 lien against Geiser with the Penobscot County Registry of Deeds on Dec. 12 for money owed that is not listed in the 11-page foreclosure lawsuit.
Bangor attorney Joe Baldacci, who represented Geiser during the AG’s case last year, is no longer representing him. He said Wednesday he did not know who is representing his former client.
JP Morgan Chase has foreclosed on Geiser’s home in Brewer before, according to Brewer’s assessing office, which still has a foreclosure listed from Nov. 6, 2013.
The mortgage bank’s most recent foreclosure on the home is from Nov. 20, after Geiser failed to make a payment after June. The home is valued at $170,000 by the city and was purchased by Geiser in 1992 for $79,500.
He owes just over $18,500 on the home; in the suit, the debt collector is asking for the home to be sold.
Geiser said last week he has paid the past due amount on the home, is out of foreclosure and the court case against him would be dismissed shortly.
“I called the mortgage company this morning,” he said Friday. “I rectified it today. There is no longer a lawsuit.”
“That is different than what our records show,” Jason Lobo, a spokesman for JP Chase Morgan, said Friday afternoon.
Records at the Penobscot Judicial Center showed the foreclosure case was still pending as of close of business Monday.