Ford Dealership Buyer Says Inflated Books Cost Him Millions
Overpaid Millions for a Ford... Dealership
A buyer from Georgia has sued a Ford dealership for overvaluing its books, resulting in a deal that cost millions more than it should. Now, this buyer wasn't actually looking to purchase a unit; in fact, he bought the entire dealership and overpaid.
Britain Auto Group, owned by Byron Britain, is the buyer in this case. The seller, Casey Jackson, the owner of Casey Jackson Ford, provided financial statements that boosted the value of his dealership. However, after inspecting the books, Britain found discrepancies in the reported income.
Inflated Income
The financial statement contained all of the dealer's numbers, but the seller also included income from other sources and business units that were not part of the sale. Jackson, the seller, had another business, Compact Cottages, that dealt with pre-fabricated homes. The profits of that business were also included in the books of the Ford dealership that was sold to Britain Auto Group.
According to the lawsuit, Britain Auto Group paid $6.5 million in blue sky value for the store. That price accounts for the dealership's intangible value and goodwill. Monthly profit for the store was said to be at $160,000 on average, with an annual profit of $2 million. Jackson's initial asking price for the dealership was set at $7 million.
Taking a closer look at the books, Britain Auto Group found that the Ford dealership's profits in 2018, 2019, and 2020 were well under $1 million per year after deducting Jackson's Compact Cottages' income. The gross profit of Jackson's other business was reportedly $1.2 million.
The plaintiff stated in the lawsuit that the dealership "has generated significantly less revenue than the amounts reflected in the financial statements." Jackson responded, stating that "the allegations in plaintiff's complaint of fraud are without merit. The transaction at issue was negotiated between sophisticated parties represented by experienced legal and accounting professionals. The parties themselves discussed the tiny house business."
Fraud or Fine Print?
On the one hand, the seller claims that he was transparent during the negotiation process, mentioning the pre-fabricated home businesses and the Ford dealership to Britain Auto Group. However, the lawsuit contends that the Ford dealership's Financial Statement did not highlight the income that came from the other business.
In the plaintiff's camp, his broker stated that Jackson did not mention the other business income getting mixed in with the Ford dealership's books. The sale went through in 2022, but only after a thorough review between Ford themselves and Casey Jackson. Both financial statements from Ford and Jackson lined up, which means that even Ford was sent overstated financial reports.
As it turns out, Jackson routinely asked an employee at the Ford dealership to enter Compact Cottages' income into his Dealertrack management software, and then sent the data to Ford. After the sale went through in 2022, according to the lawsuit, Jackson's office manager continued working at the dealership and removed all of Compact Cottages' physical files from the location.
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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 3:01 PM.