Car dealer pays back mentally ill man bilked out of $100,000

The longtime Seattle auto dealer whose employees allegedly bilked a mentally ill man out of nearly $100,000 today repaid every penny that was stolen.

Steve Huling paid $29,420.82, for the GMC Canyon pickup that the man was coerced into purchasing, and $70,000 to cover the cash his employees allegedly stole when they burglarized the man's West Seattle apartment last year.

With a publicist, King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Lynn Prunhuber, and Huling's wife by his side, Huling read from a prepared statement in front of a West Seattle US Bank branch this morning. He handed Prunhuber two checks for each sum.

Huling, who sold the Huling Brothers dealership last month, declined to answer any questions. He would only say "its really been a trying time for us."

The 60-year-old victim is currently at Western State Hospital. He is not being named by The Seattle Times because of his vulnerability. It's unclear how the man, who has spent the last 11 years living in a subsidized housing complex, came to have a dresser drawer filled with cash.

Thus far, Seattle police and the Washington State Patrol have arrested three former Huling employees for allegedly stealing from the man.

Ted E. Coxwell, 39, and Paul R. Rimbey, 39, and their sales manager, Adrian G. Dillard, 32, were charged last week with exploiting the man and stealing what amounted to his life savings. Police say eight other Huling employees are under investigation for participating in the theft and possible cover-up.

In a King County courtroom this morning, Dillard and Rimbey pleaded not guilty.

Dillard, the dealership's former sales manager, is charged with burglary, theft and money-laundering. He's accused of using $20,791.50 of the $70,000 stolen to pay off credit cards.

Rimbey is charged with theft. Police say he tried to steal the $70,000 from the victim's apartment, but got there after the money had already been taken. He is accused of stealing the victim's truck while the victim was held at Harborview's psychiatric ward.

Coxwell is being held at the Snohomish County Jail for an unrelated domestic violence allegation. He is charged with burglary and theft in the West Seattle case.

In a letter emailed to the media Monday night, Huling wrote, "Our family is outraged by this blatant and isolated injustice at our dealership. We drug test all of our employees. We do background checks. We require each employee to sign a Compliance of Law and Business Ethics statement. We grieve for [the victim], and we are doing everything in our power to right this serious wrong."

The case began in July when the victim, wearing feces-stained pants and boasting of having a dresser drawer full of cash, walked into West Seattle dealership and said he wanted to pay cash for a $30,000 GMC Canyon pickup.

After selling him the truck, salesmen stole the rest of the man's money, which he told the sales staff he kept in his apartment, according to court papers. Later, another salesman got the man to sign over his new $30,000 truck while the victim was in Harborview Medical Center's psychiatric ward, according to the charging papers.

After receiving the checks from Huling, Prunhuber complimented the former auto dealer.

"It's a huge and wonderful step toward justice for the victim," she said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Brian Alexander: 206-464-2026 or balexander@seattletimes.com

Susan Kelleher : 206-464-2508 or skelleher@seattletimes.com

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