JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced this week that his office had reached a settlement with TaDarrell Qualls and his car dealerships — Top Quality Consultations Unlimited LLC and Exclusive Imports LLC — over allegations that he and his dealerships violated Missouri’s consumer laws.

In a consent judgement filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, Qualls admitted he and his dealerships failed to provide car titles to purchasers in a timely fashion and failed to make repairs promised as part of sales agreements.

“There are clear laws in Missouri to protect buyers of used vehicles,” Koster said. “When these laws are violated, we will act aggressively to stop the violations and seek restitution for those harmed.”

In March 2014, Koster sued Qualls for allegedly selling vehicles to customers and then failing to provide certificates of titles. Consumers who bought these vehicles were unable to register their cars and were subsequently unable to drive the cars legally, according to the suit. 

When customers came back to him seeking refunds, Qualls failed to provide refunds even though those consumers never received their car titles. In other instances, Qualls promised to repair vehicles his customers purchased, but failed to honor those agreements when they returned to the dealership to have those repairs performed.  

For his deceptive practices, Qualls is required to pay $38,067 in restitution to 23 consumers. Additionally, for the next five years, he will be prohibited from selling or leasing motor vehicles; accepting any payment for any work selling, leasing or purchasing any motor vehicles; and owning, operating or controlling any businesses engaged in buying, selling or leasing of motor vehicles.

Qualls was also assessed $46,000 in penalties and costs. However, those costs will be suspended as long as he provides restitution to the 23 consumers. Qualls must also dissolve the LLCs he used to run his dealerships.