U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. Billy Joe Goines d/b/a Goines Towing & Recovery (E.D.N.C.)
On February 1, 2024, the court entered a consent order in United States v. Billy Joe Goines d/b/a Goines Towing & Recovery (E.D.N.C.). The complaint, which was filed on March 3, 2023, alleged that the defendant violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by auctioning off, selling, or otherwise disposing of servicemembers’ motor vehicles pursuant to court judgments obtained without filing proper military affidavits. The SCRA requires a plaintiff seeking a default judgment in court to file an accurate military affidavit stating whether or not the defendant is in military service, or that the plaintiff is unable to determine the defendant’s military service status. The complaint alleged that since at least 2017, Goines disposed of motor vehicles belonging to SCRA-protected servicemembers after failing to file, or filing inaccurate, military affidavits in court proceedings against those servicemembers. The consent order requires Goines to pay $66,805.06 in relief for the impacted servicemembers and a $30,000 civil penalty, return one vehicle in storage to its servicemember owner, forgive storage fees assessed to certain servicemembers, attend SCRA training, and institute new policies and procedures that comply with the SCRA.
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