Ex-owner and GM of RV Peddler are charged
They each face nearly 50 felony offenses in California court
The former owner of the now closed RV Peddler dealerships in Yuma and Bakersfield, Calif., has been charged with conspiracy and 47 counts of grand theft for allegedly swindling people who used her business to buy or sell motor homes on consignment, according to a Kern County prosecutor.
Faye Pyle-Morero, 76, who is out of custody after posting a bond that had been reduced to $100,000, was the sole owner of the dealerships and has entered not guilty pleas to the charges. She has a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 18 in Kern County Superior Court. She could potentially receive up to 30 years in prison.
Ken Searcy, the former general manager of both RV Peddlers, is also facing the same 47 charges. Searcy is still currently in custody and has also pleaded not guilty to the charges. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 18 in Kern County Superior Court as well.
“This case is unusual just due to the sheer number of victims,” said Deputy District Attorney Michael Caves. “It is also strange to see someone use a business to defraud so many individual consumers.”
Caves explained that Pyle-Morero, who is believed to have embezzled more than $2.8 million from banks and customers, would allegedly sell a motor home on consignment but withhold the seller’s rightful payment and the buyer’s rightful title to their new vehicle.
In April 2016, after receiving numerous complaints from customers about RV Peddler, the California Department of Motor Vehicles launched an investigation into the company. The probe reportedly found that the business agreed to sell motor homes or trailers from consumers in exchange for a fee, but then failed to pay the customer or their loan company when the vehicles sold.
The charges filed against Pyle-Morero and Searcy, however, happened between 2014 and 2016, according to Caves, who added there are actually many more than 50 victims in the case.
Caves went on to say that Searcy has done some television interviews in the area while in custody, in which he stated that RV Peddler was in big trouble back in 2014 and as a result wasn’t paying lenders or creditors on time, which eventually led to the dealership losing all of its product lines and becoming about $2.4 million in debt.
While Caves said he would have liked for victims to be compensated as part of the resolution of the case, it doesn’t seem very realistic. He said his main concern is now trying to provide the victims with some satisfaction.