Orange County Business Journal Online


One of the owners of Lamborghini Orange County, which abruptly closed in November, has agreed to plead guilty to charges he defrauded the finance arm of Volkswagan AG, owner of the Italian sports car maker.

Viken Keuylian has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Santa Ana.

Federal prosecutors allege Keuylian deceived Volkswagen Credit Inc. by misusing $12 million in financing from the company.

Keuylian borrowed money from Volkswagan to acquire Lamborghinis and other luxury cars, according to prosecutors. As the cars sold, he was obligated to pay the money back.

Prosecutors allege Keuylian deceived Volkswagan into believing some sold cars remained on his lots.

Financing then was used to pay Keuylian's other business debts, including those associated with a vineyard, a commercial building on Pacific
Coast Highway in Newport Beach and his Lotus dealership in Beverly Hills, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Keuylian’s plea deal still has to be signed off on by a judge.

He’s set to appear on Monday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

Keuylian was general manager of Lamborghini Orange County. He ran the dealership with sisters Nora, Astrid and Sossi Keuylian.

Prior to opening the dealership, Vik Keuylian was the U.S. distributor for Lamborghini. He tripled Lamborghini’s U.S. sales, Nora Keuylian said in a 2005 Business Journal interview.

There was even a Momo edition color named after him—Rosso Vik, a shade of red.

 

Souds like he'll spend a short period in jail (less than 2 years) and never sell Lambos again.

 

this is really sad... from what everybody has said Vik was a very nice guy. (who gave some bitchin deals on lambos might I add)

 

esp. the last week....murci's selling for below 200K....gallardos below 120K


lol

 

Good.

 

He is actually getting a nice deal there. I didn't see anything about making restitution to VW either. So he may come out of this a wealthy man.

I always liked Vik. Our paths would cross at school events (his children attended St. Margaret's in San Juan Capo with my kids). It is sad to see the shit hit the fan here.

Vik would do anything to get you in the car you wanted. He was famous for that. To a fault I guess.

 

I bought my '05 Murcielago from Vik and his sister. They treated me well, gave me a healthy discount off sticker on a new Murcielago and always took care of my service needs.

Bad decisions can come back to haunt you.

 

Up to $20 million....

http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/fil...-agreement.pdf

 

Seems like I'm the only one who doesn't feel bad for this man. I hate thieves.

 

I think I've told this story before but will again just because it seems aprapos.

In 2006 my son and I went to the press day at the LA Autoshow. I had picked up my son straight from school so he still had his uniform on. We were checking out the Lambos and Vik came up to my son and asked if he attended St. Margarets. My son said yes and Vik explained that his kids went there as well. He then took my son to each car, talked to him about it and then let him sit in the drivers seat and take pictures. He literally led my son through the crowd and saw to it that he got a good, up close and personal look at each car. Then he gave my son a t-shirt and cap. I was blown away.

He always remembered me after that and would shake my hand and call me by name every time I saw him. Every couple of months he would call me with a great deal on a Lambo. We would always chat for a bit. He was passionate about the cars which made him a great salesman.

Like Robert said, someone has to pay when the law gets broken. But it doesn't necessarily mean that you are a terrible person. I hope that Vik gets his life back together and has success in the future.