Dale Sundeen (Photo: Auto News)
Dale Sundeen, the Colorado Department of Revenue Auto Industry Division’s criminal investigator who was investigating Grand Junction’s Red Rock dealerships, quit his job with the state and went to work for Red Rock Auto Group as their “Corporate Director of Compliance.”
The news, considered shocking by many Red Rock victims, came in the form of an undated press release (pdf) from Bryan Knight, owner of the Red Rock Auto Group. It said Sundeen started working for Red Rock on February 21.
Bryan Knight
Sundeen had been an investigator with the state Auto Industry Division on the western slope for over 11 years.
Sundeen had most recently been in charge of investigating Red Rock dealerships for fraudulent sales tactics like the dealerships’ misuse of customers’ digital signatures to hike prices and add extras to customers’ contracts without their knowing, and forging customers’ signatures on contracts, credit applications, titles, Powers of Attorney and other documents.
Reaction from the community was swift.
A customers’ real signature next to the fake signature he discovered on his contract in January of 2022 that would have added a $10,000 extended warranty to his deal had he not caught it at the credit union. This was the first forgery uncovered at a Red Rock dealership, and the one that tipped off the community about the widespread extent of the dealership’s alleged forgeries on contracts, titles, Powers of Attorney, extended warranties and other documents. A former title clerk at a Red Rock dealership said such forgeries were commonplace at the dealership, and was fired for refusing to go along with it.
A victim of Red Rock’s IPad trick and forgery said, “I can’t believe it. Wow, that is insane. Dude, what a traitor. Think of all the people who were counting on him.”
A former employee who had been fired from Red Rock for refusing to go along with the dealership’s illegal activities said,
“He’ll help them get out of hot water and spruce up their image and then they’ll let him go. I’m sure they’re hoping any investigation will go away now.”
A former Red Rock salesperson who quit the dealership after feeling morally compromised by working there said,
“It’s crazy sh*t. It’s like the Sopranos run Red Rock.”
A person who formerly worked in the local auto business said, “It’s a smoke show. They should take what they’re paying Sundeen and use it instead to train their people to do things the right way. What’s your soul worth?”
#FraudRock
The dealer board has a reputation of letting dealers get off pretty easily. I hoped when a second investigator was brought here, they were taking it more seriously. But with Sundeen going for the big bucks I presume he was offered to quit the state “regulator”, the investigation may be in disarray. I hope someone from the state is checking if Sundeen took anything with him. What is the state doing now? Sending another investigator? Now that Red Rocks is claiming nothing was done wrong, why did they have to hire Sundeen? Most of the dealers here are owned by Utah companies and have brought their own form of secrecy and close dealing with them. Other dealers have high prices and it is best to buy on the Front Range or maybe in Delta or Montrose if they are willing to make good deals. Two local dealers were bought by an east coast chain about two years ago and the one remaining store (two brands) that is owned locally is asking for some vehicles $5K over MSRP.
If this isn’t criminal, it smells to high heaven of corruption and misuse of his official position.
Here’s hoping that someone in authority has the integrity to go after Red Rock and their sleazy tactics.
You may be aware already, but this is how the entire regulatory system works in the US. Every predatory industry has a revolving door of regulators and politicians that keep them above accountability. It’s an inevitable consequence of our unfettered capitalist system that relentlessly concentrates wealth and power to the elite.
Right…socialist and communist countries don’t have any corruption.
I never said anything about socialist or communist countries. But yeah the corporate capture of our regulatory bodies has been great. Just ask the people on East Palestine. They are very happy.
I agree that regulatory capture is a huge problem in this country. But it is not a feature of capitalism.
This corruption is a feature of human nature.
The more you hear about Red Rocks the more you want to wash your hands.
Wow. It might take a class action lawsuit with some very diligent discovery to find out the full extent of what’s been going on at Red Rock.
I agree with DJ. I wonder what they offered him to become a traitor. Someone official needs to find that out and then hold the whole group accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
Dale Sundeen and Red Rock: names to remember and to inform the public about. Also, warn people who have done business with these unindicted grifters to read their contract. Predators is not too strong a word.