BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal authorities accuse a Maryland used car dealership of racially discriminating against black customers by offering them less favorable terms on auto loans than white customers.
The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Monday against Glen Burnie, Maryland-based Guaranteed Auto Sales, dealership owner Kelly Ann West and general manager Robert Chesgreen.
The department used people posing as prospective car buyers to test the dealership’s compliance with the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The suit says dealership employees quoted higher down payments and bi-weekly payments to black testers than white testers for the same car.
A man who answered the dealership’s telephone and identified himself as Chesgreen declined to comment on Monday.
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