Walser Automotive and Orono man charged with tax evasion

Prosecutors say that from March 2020 through August 2023, the Twin Cities-based Walser Automotive Group worked with William Fredrick Ward, 58, to improperly title at least 34 vehicles in Montana — a state with no vehicle sales tax — even though the vehicles were ultimately sold in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue estimates the unpaid tax totals at least $350,745, not including interest and penalties.

Neither Ward nor Walser Automotive could not be reached for comment.

Ward began working under contract with Walser around 2017 buying and selling high-end vehicles. According to criminal complaint, Walser provided the money, paperwork and warehouse space for the vehicles.

The complaint says that the business and Ward used a shell Montana limited liability company to buy the cars. Prosecutors say the non-existent business was under Walser’s control and was used to avoid sales tax on the purchase of the cars, which included Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Land Rover and Chevrolet vehicles. The complaint says that Ward and Walser split the profits evenly.

The complaint said that when Ward would buy vehicles, he would ask the seller to issue the title to him in the name of the shell Montana business, which would avoid the sales tax. Prosecutors say he often already had a buyer waiting to purchase the car.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, when the price of used cars skyrocketed, the automotive group allegedly took advantage of the shortage of used cars. Because used cars are not subject to the same pricing restrictions as new vehicles, prosecutors say Walser and Ward gave new cars a Montana title and said they were used.

One Walser employee told investigators the company had leased vehicles to employees to drive around for a while so they could sell them as used.