OXFORD, Miss. (Nov. 16, 2010)—A Maryland tire distributor has pleaded innocent in a federal case in which he is accused on 70 counts of fraud against a tire dealer customer.
Judge David Sanders of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi ordered continuation of a $1 million bond against Sanjeet Singh “Sonny” Veen, president of Orteck Global Supply & Distribution Co., Rockville, Md., at Veen's Nov. 9 court appearance.
According to the indictment filed Oct. 20 in the Northern Mississippi court, Veen is accused of charging Batesville, Miss.-based Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc. for more than $7 million in phony tire shipments.
Between March 2009 and February 2010, the indictment states, Veen took orders from Dunlap & Kyle and its affiliated companies, accepting money from them and then never shipping the promised tires.
“To explain away tire shipments that were paid for but never arrived, Veen would blame the foreign manufacturers for making mistakes,” the indictment states. Veen would then insist that he would deal with the foreign tire makers himself, rather than allowing Dunlap & Kyle to pursue its own claims, according to the indictment.
If convicted, Veen could face up to 20 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each count.
Dunlap & Kyle operates 13 wholesale centers and 52 retail stores in seven states under the Gateway Tire name.