TORCO ASSETS BEING SOLD OFF
Tue, 2008-09-09 22:35
Once the largest drag racing sponsors, Torco Race Fuels is now controlled by a court-appointed receiver.
According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, Robert Seely has been given the daunting task of sorting through what many describe as a colossal mess.
Seely, of Kalamazoo, Mich., is currently fielding proposals for the sale of all parts and assets of Evan Knoll’s Decatur, Mich.-based business.
Court records, according the Kalamazoo Gazette, tell the story of why IRS agents raided the company headquarters, and reportedly Knoll’s personal residence to seize financial records. Once the largest drag racing sponsors, Torco Race Fuels is now controlled by a court-appointed receiver.
According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, Robert Seely has been given the daunting task of sorting through what many describe as a colossal mess.
Seely, of Kalamazoo, Mich., is currently fielding proposals for the sale of all parts and assets of Evan Knoll’s Decatur, Mich.-based business.
Court records, according the Kalamazoo Gazette, tell the story of why IRS agents raided the company headquarters, and reportedly Knoll’s personal residence to seize financial records.
According to Van Buren County Circuit Court records, as reported by the newspaper, Knoll owes at least $15 million to Chemical Bank of Michigan, $1 million in unpaid corporate income and employment taxes and could eventually be ordered to repay the federal government tens of millions of dollars of fuel-tax rebates.
Property taxes are delinquent on 11 real-estate holdings Knoll submitted as loan collateral, including Torco corporate headquarters.
Knoll’s attorney Robert Wilson told CompetitionPlus.com the IRS visit couldn’t be categorized as a raid despite the fact armed local deputies assisted in the “visit”.
Wilson also went on record blaming the financial situation on former C.F.O. Latrell Preston and alleging improprieties with company money. The legal counsel also told CompetitionPlus.com Preston was entrusted to pay important tax debts and those went unpaid.
Despite the charges of embezzlement, Preston has not been arrested nor charged with any crime.
Preston has been in attendance at multiple NHRA and IHRA events seeking employment while Knoll has been largely unreachable since the unraveling of his business.
Preston declined to comment on the issue at the advice of his counsel.
Knoll contacted the CompetitionPlus.com offices in August promising an interview but has been largely unreachable.
Last month, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette, Chemical Bank filed a lawsuit against Knoll and has alleged his failure to cooperate with the IRS by missing meetings and allegedly plays “hide and seek'' in Gaylord “while his company, its dedicated employees and its creditors struggle to preserve corporate assets/collateral.'' The bank said the firm is “insolvent'' and appears to be “unraveling at its seams.''
The newspaper reports, according to documents included in the Chemical Bank litigation, the IRS currently is withholding more than $19.5 million in federal fuel-excise tax rebates that Knoll's Torco Racing Fuels Company filed for in two quarters in 2007 and 2008. Those government refunds reportedly were used as collateral for a $15 million loan that Chemical Bank made to Knoll's company.
The report also said Knoll's company claims it paid excise taxes when it bought thousands of gallons of fuel from four sources that were blended to produce its racing grades, according to documents filed with the government and included in the Chemical Bank case.
The documents stated Torco says it did not pass those taxes on to its customers who used its formulas in race vehicles. Excise taxes are generally charged for fuel used in street vehicles. Knoll’s company said it filed for the rebates to recoup the excise taxes it paid to the government.
This is where the problems arise, as the documents state that IRS investigators said Torco was not entitled to the excise tax rebates. Federal records included in the Chemical Bank case say Knoll hasn’t provided documentation related to those fuel purchases demanded by the IRS.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports, according to IRS figures, Knoll's company was billing the federal government for rebates averaging about $4 million per quarter in 2005. In 2007, Torco's excise-tax rebate claims were an average of $9 million per quarter.
Seely reportedly told the court in a written communication on Aug. 25 that he is attempting to “keep each of the operating units open and conducting business as best possible.''
Calls have been made to Seely regarding the purchase of Knoll’s business or parts of it. This comes from a report submitted to Van Buren County Circuit Judge William C. Buhl.
As many as five employees have been reportedly laid off since Seely took over and according to the aforementioned report, the organization has no clear organization chart or job descriptions.
In addition to the lawsuit by Chemical Bank, Knoll faces a federal lawsuit over a private plane that has been repossessed after purchase through another bank.
According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, Robert Seely has been given the daunting task of sorting through what many describe as a colossal mess.
Seely, of Kalamazoo, Mich., is currently fielding proposals for the sale of all parts and assets of Evan Knoll’s Decatur, Mich.-based business.
Court records, according the Kalamazoo Gazette, tell the story of why IRS agents raided the company headquarters, and reportedly Knoll’s personal residence to seize financial records. Once the largest drag racing sponsors, Torco Race Fuels is now controlled by a court-appointed receiver.
According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, Robert Seely has been given the daunting task of sorting through what many describe as a colossal mess.
Seely, of Kalamazoo, Mich., is currently fielding proposals for the sale of all parts and assets of Evan Knoll’s Decatur, Mich.-based business.
Court records, according the Kalamazoo Gazette, tell the story of why IRS agents raided the company headquarters, and reportedly Knoll’s personal residence to seize financial records.
According to Van Buren County Circuit Court records, as reported by the newspaper, Knoll owes at least $15 million to Chemical Bank of Michigan, $1 million in unpaid corporate income and employment taxes and could eventually be ordered to repay the federal government tens of millions of dollars of fuel-tax rebates.
Property taxes are delinquent on 11 real-estate holdings Knoll submitted as loan collateral, including Torco corporate headquarters.
Knoll’s attorney Robert Wilson told CompetitionPlus.com the IRS visit couldn’t be categorized as a raid despite the fact armed local deputies assisted in the “visit”.
Wilson also went on record blaming the financial situation on former C.F.O. Latrell Preston and alleging improprieties with company money. The legal counsel also told CompetitionPlus.com Preston was entrusted to pay important tax debts and those went unpaid.
Despite the charges of embezzlement, Preston has not been arrested nor charged with any crime.
Preston has been in attendance at multiple NHRA and IHRA events seeking employment while Knoll has been largely unreachable since the unraveling of his business.
Preston declined to comment on the issue at the advice of his counsel.
Knoll contacted the CompetitionPlus.com offices in August promising an interview but has been largely unreachable.
Last month, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette, Chemical Bank filed a lawsuit against Knoll and has alleged his failure to cooperate with the IRS by missing meetings and allegedly plays “hide and seek'' in Gaylord “while his company, its dedicated employees and its creditors struggle to preserve corporate assets/collateral.'' The bank said the firm is “insolvent'' and appears to be “unraveling at its seams.''
The newspaper reports, according to documents included in the Chemical Bank litigation, the IRS currently is withholding more than $19.5 million in federal fuel-excise tax rebates that Knoll's Torco Racing Fuels Company filed for in two quarters in 2007 and 2008. Those government refunds reportedly were used as collateral for a $15 million loan that Chemical Bank made to Knoll's company.
The report also said Knoll's company claims it paid excise taxes when it bought thousands of gallons of fuel from four sources that were blended to produce its racing grades, according to documents filed with the government and included in the Chemical Bank case.
The documents stated Torco says it did not pass those taxes on to its customers who used its formulas in race vehicles. Excise taxes are generally charged for fuel used in street vehicles. Knoll’s company said it filed for the rebates to recoup the excise taxes it paid to the government.
This is where the problems arise, as the documents state that IRS investigators said Torco was not entitled to the excise tax rebates. Federal records included in the Chemical Bank case say Knoll hasn’t provided documentation related to those fuel purchases demanded by the IRS.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports, according to IRS figures, Knoll's company was billing the federal government for rebates averaging about $4 million per quarter in 2005. In 2007, Torco's excise-tax rebate claims were an average of $9 million per quarter.
Seely reportedly told the court in a written communication on Aug. 25 that he is attempting to “keep each of the operating units open and conducting business as best possible.''
Calls have been made to Seely regarding the purchase of Knoll’s business or parts of it. This comes from a report submitted to Van Buren County Circuit Judge William C. Buhl.
As many as five employees have been reportedly laid off since Seely took over and according to the aforementioned report, the organization has no clear organization chart or job descriptions.
In addition to the lawsuit by Chemical Bank, Knoll faces a federal lawsuit over a private plane that has been repossessed after purchase through another bank.
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