CEO of Parkway Car Dealerships Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Submit False Statements To Influence A Financial Institution

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Gerald McDonald, 52, of Madrid, NY, pled guilty today in federal court in Syracuse to conspiracy to submit false statements to influence a financial institution, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Weirauch.

As part of his guilty plea, McDonald, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and part owner of Parkway Country Polaris, Parkway Dodge Chrysler and Jeep, and Parkway Chevrolet and Oldsmobile admitted that he conspired with sales persons and sales managers to submit false information to banks on consumer bank loan applications. In order to ensure that a borrower who would not otherwise qualify for a loan would qualify, a co-conspirator sales person or co-conspirator sales manager would falsely state on the loan application that a cash down payment had been made on a vehicle. In fact, no such down-payments had been made or were overstated in the financing applications. As CEO and part owner of Parkway, McDonald knew of and approved the use of this practice.

Gerald McDonald will be sentenced on July 19, 2016 in federal court in Syracuse by Senior District Judge Norman A. Mordue. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, an order of restitution in the amount of $102,498 and an order of forfeiture in the amount of $102,498. Sentences are imposed by a judge based upon the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown