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NBC News: Ohio GOP Senate Candidate Plans New Car Dealership Amid Scrutiny Of His Businesses

Columbus, OH – New reporting from NBC finds that Bernie Moreno’s been caught “preparing a return to the auto industry” and will open a new Mercedes-Benz dealership in Ohio after repeatedly claiming he “sold off all of his businesses to avoid conflicts of interest” on the campaign trail. While he was claiming that he “sold every one of [his] businesses,” public records show Moreno actually purchased $9.5 million of land in Delaware County and secured financing through a mortgage agreement with Mercedes-Benz for a new dealership, which will break ground in November.

Moreno has faced scrutiny for his record as a car salesman, which includes over a dozen lawsuits where Moreno refused to pay his employees what they were owed, deliberately destroyed evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying them, and lied about selling Chinese-made cars that Ohio workers say shipped Ohio jobs overseas.

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NBC News: Ohio GOP Senate candidate plans new car dealership amid scrutiny of his businesses
Henry J. Gomez
August 27, 2024

• Bernie Moreno, the Republican Senate nominee in Ohio whose past as a car dealer has been mocked and scrutinized by his Democratic rival, is preparing a return to the auto industry.

• In a recently filed personal financial disclosure statement, Moreno identified himself as a manager of two companies — including a realty business that he lists as an asset — that, according to public records, are developing a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

• Moreno, who has said several times during his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown that he sold off all of his businesses to avoid conflicts of interest, confirmed his involvement in an interview.

• “I got rid of all my operating businesses, anything that would have given me a conflict,” Moreno said in an interview in May with Kitco News, which covers the precious metals market and cryptocurrency, another business in which Moreno has invested.

• “I knew defeating Sherrod Brown was going to be very difficult. What did I do? I sold every one of my businesses, made sure I had no conflicts of interest, so that I could focus my complete attention to do this,” he said.

• “One of the things I firmly believe in is not just to run for office and set an example as a senator, but [to] set an example as a candidate, which means be completely free of any conflicts of interest,” Moreno said in January at a town hall event with pastors. “I don’t believe that senators should trade stocks, should own companies. You’ve got to be completely clear, completely clean, of any conflicts of interest.”

• In his recent personal financial disclosure statement, a form that Senate candidates are required to file, Moreno listed more than 20 “business entities” as assets, including M20 Realty LLC, as well as other limited liability companies and limited partnerships.

• M20 Realty and M20 Motors LLC each filed articles of organization with the Ohio secretary of state in June 2022, records show. M20 Motors then registered Mercedes-Benz of Sunbury as a trade name in September 2022, listing Moreno’s home near Cleveland as its address. Moreno’s financial disclosure identified him as a manager for both companies and listed M20 Realty as an asset that “had a value of more than $1,000 or generated income of more than $200.”

• In April, weeks after Moreno won the Senate primary, M20 Realty acquired land in Sunbury, a suburb north of Columbus, for $9.5 million, according to property records in Delaware County. Around that time, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA entered into a mortgage agreement with M20 Realty. Moreno signed the mortgage as a manager for M20 Realty and signed a landlord/tenant agreement between M20 Realty and M20 Motors on behalf of both companies, according to copies accessed on the county’s website.

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Mother Jones: Bernie Moreno Says He Built His Car Dealer Empire All on His Own. The Reality Is More Complicated.

Columbus, OH – Recent reporting from Mother Jones exposed that while Moreno has made an “​​up-by-the-boostraps tale” central to his campaign and claims he “built his car dealer empire all on his own,” “the reality is more complicated.” Mother Jones found that Moreno actually received “much-needed handout[s],” “special favors,” and “financial assistance” throughout his career and even “leveraged his family connections” and the “Moreno Family cash reserves” to enrich himself.

What You Need To Know About The “Special Favors” And “Family Cash Reserves” Behind Bernie Moreno’s Career:

• Bernie Moreno “leveraged his family connections” to secure, in Moreno’s words, “really favorable lease terms” on a planned Infiniti dealership in the Coral Gables neighborhood of Miami.

• In his company’s proposal for the planned dealership, Moreno listed his “Moreno Family cash reserves” as part of the assets he was willing to invest in the dealership. Moreno also received a “much-needed handout” of “$4.4 million in financial assistance” from Infiniti, the luxury vehicle division of the foreign automaker Nissan.

• Past court records show this is not the only time Moreno received “financial assistance” from Nissan. Nissan gave Moreno $1.25 million for an Akron dealership and another $4.4 million for two dealerships in the Cleveland area.

• Bernie Moreno got a “a sweetheart deal” on his first car dealership in Ohio that “Mercedes-Benz had pulled strings to get him.”

• This is the latest example of the “much-needed handout[s],” “special favors,” and “financial assistance” Moreno received to build his network of car dealerships that made him “enormously rich.”

SEE ALSO: The Real Story Behind “Self-Made” Car Salesman Bernie Moreno: “Family Cash,” “Much-Needed Handout[s],” “Special Favors” and A “Sweetheart Deal”

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Columbus, OH – It’s been nothing but bad news for Mega Millionaire Bernie Moreno since new reports this week shed light on Moreno’s massive fortune worth up to $172.7 million and that he benefited from “much-needed handout[s],” “special favors,” and family cash to build his network of car dealerships. Whether it’s the investment in his family enrichment scheme or supporting a tax plan that “primarily benefits wealthy Americans like himself,” Ohioans know that Bernie Moreno is only out for himself.

NEED-TO-KNOW THIS WEEK:

• New reporting details that while Moreno has made an “​​up-by-the-boostraps tale” central to his campaign and claims he “built his car dealer empire all on his own,” “the reality is more complicated.” Mother Jones found that Moreno actually received “much-needed handout[s],” “special favors,” and “financial assistance” from Mercedes-Benz throughout his career and even “leveraged his family connections” and the “Moreno Family cash reserves” to enrich himself.

• Bernie Moreno’s investment in a private equity fund tied to a family enrichment scheme using taxpayer dollars has “grown substantially” and is now up to $5 million. 

• Bernie Moreno supports a tax plan that would put “wealthy people and big corporations” ahead of Ohio workers and families.

🚘 MORENO GOT BY WITH A… LOT OF HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS: Bernie Moreno tells a “​​up-by-the-boostraps tale” on the campaign trail and claims he “built his car dealer empire all on his own,” but new reporting from Mother Jones found that Moreno actually received “much-needed handout[s],” “special favors,” and “financial assistance” and even “leveraged his family connections” and the “Moreno Family cash reserves” to grow “enormously rich.” Plus, Moreno continues to be “dogged” by lawsuits for refusing to pay his employees and going so far as to deliberately destroy evidence to get out of paying them. Read more from Mother Jones here:

• Mother Jones: “The up-by-the-bootstraps campaign trail story belies a more complicated reality.”

• Mother Jones: “…Moreno has been dogged, too, by questions about how he made his money… Moreno shelled out more than $400,000 to settle a wage-theft lawsuit in Massachusetts in which ‘he was forced to admit to shredding overtime-­payment records.’”

• Mother Jones: “The South Florida case offered a glimpse of the breaks that helped Moreno climb to the top of the profession. He drew the ire of rival dealers by collecting millions of dollars in financial assistance from manufacturers to open new storefronts, and he testified that Mercedes-Benz had pulled strings to get him a sweetheart deal on his very first Ohio dealership.”

🤑 FAMILY ENRICHMENT SCHEME CONTINUES: Recent reporting revealed that Bernie Moreno’s investment in a private equity fund tied to a family enrichment scheme using taxpayer dollars has “grown substantially” and is now up to $5 million since last year despite selling a parcel of land in Costa Rica worth up to $5 million. Reports found Moreno has also purchased five new homes in the last year. Now, Moreno owes Ohioans answers about his finances and business dealings.

1. Will you make the details of your investments in Yellowstone Capital Partners available for Ohioans to see?

2. How much money did you make by selling the property you were a “majority owner” of in Costa Rica? Will you make the details of the sale public?

3. Will you disclose all of the information about business entities registered to your name?

4. Did you pay yourself back the full $3 million you loaned your campaign earlier this year using campaign contributions from your wealthy donors?

💸 OUT FOR HIMSELF: In the same week a report reveals Moreno owns assets worth up to $172.7 million and would be the fifth wealthiest Senator if elected, more reporting highlighted that Bernie Moreno supports a tax plan that “primarily benefits wealthy Americans like himself,” the latest example of Moreno only looking out for himself and putting “wealthy people and big corporations” ahead of Ohio workers and families.

🤥 PANTS ON FIRE ALERT: A new ad is repeating the false claims Bernie Moreno has made and independent reporting has consistently found to be false, including multiple reports that have detailed the Moreno family’s “considerable wealth” and “deep political connections” to the many “special favors” he received to build his business.

 🗞️ WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING THIS WEEK:

• Mother Jones: “[Moreno] settled more than a dozen claims of wage theft at his dealerships in the commonwealth, along with a host of other complaints from former employees…”

• Ohio Capital Journal: “…if elected, [Moreno] will likely be among the wealthiest men serving in Congress because of his business holdings.”

• TiffinOhio.net: “[Moreno] has endorsed a national abortion ban that would counter Ohio’s voter-approved protections.”

• Scioto Valley Guardian: “Moreno’s financial standing and his real estate investments highlight a potential disconnect between his campaign rhetoric and the economic struggles of his constituents.”

• WVXU: “…multi-millionaire car dealer Bernie Moreno, carries his own baggage into the campaign — including multiple former employees suing him for refusing to pay them overtime they say they are entitled to.”

• The Statehouse News Bureau: “[Ohio AFL-CIO] will highlight wage theft lawsuits that Moreno settled with former employees, his stated opposition to a minimum wage and other union concerns.”

🐤 TWEET OF THE WEEK:

🎶 CODA: “Fact-check before you believe Moreno’s words.”

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American Journal: Wealthy U.S. Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno Wants More Tax Cuts For The Rich

Columbus, OH – New reporting yesterday highlights Bernie Moreno’s support for a tax plan that “primarily benefits wealthy Americans like himself,” the latest example of Moreno only looking out for himself and putting “wealthy people and big corporations” ahead of Ohio workers and families.

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American Journal: Wealthy U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno wants more tax cuts for the rich
Jesse Valentine
August 21, 2024

• Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno has endorsed the extension of a tax plan that primarily benefits wealthy Americans like himself. Moreno’s net worth is estimated to be $105.7 million.

• The [Tax Cut and Jobs Act] cut tax rates for wealthy people and big corporations. Many of those cuts are set to expire in 2025, making their future likely contingent on which party controls the White House and Congress next year.

• On June 25, Moreno appeared on a podcast hosted by conservative pundit Monica Crowley. In the interview, Crowley asked Moreno if he supports extending the Trump tax credits.

• “Of course,” Moreno replied.

• This is not the first time Moreno has endorsed extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In a December 2023 interview on the Bruce Hooley Show, Moreno was asked what he would do to reduce the national debt and cut wasteful federal spending.

• “Well, the most important part of that question is the spending side,” Moreno responded. “The reality is we have to make the Trump tax cuts permanent in 2025.”

• Moreno made a similar statement at a Republican event in Highland Heights, OH in September 2023.

• “​​If the Democrats stay in office, there’s no question those tax cuts will expire,” Moreno said. “We got to make those tax cuts permanent. That’s one of the main things we got to get done when we do win in 2025.”

• Moreno’s assertion that extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would reduce the national debt is incorrect. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget determined in January that the law has already added $1.9 trillion to the debt. The ​​Congressional Budget Office said in May that extending the law for ten years could add another $4.6 trillion to the deficit.

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Multiple Reports Have Detailed Moreno Family’s Wealth, “Deep Political Connections,” Ties To Corruption, And The Many “Special Favors” He Received To Build His Business

Columbus, OH – A new ad is repeating the false claims Bernie Moreno has made and independent reporting has consistently found to be false. 

Here’s the truth about Bernie Moreno:

• FACT: Despite campaigning as a “political outsider and immigrant whose family built its way out of rudimentary beginnings,” multiple reports have found that Bernie Moreno’s family was “considerabl[y] wealthy” and had “deep political connections” in Colombia. The New York Times found that Moreno was “born into a rich and politically connected family” and one family friend even called Moreno’s bootstraps origin tale a “gross exaggeration.”

• FACT: Moreno profited off of a scheme with his brothers by funneling U.S. taxpayer money into banks that financed projects his family oversaw. Moreno’s latest personal financial disclosure showed that Moreno’s investment in the scheme has “grown substantially” and is now worth up to $5 million.

• FACT: Despite claiming he built his car dealership business “all on his own” and without “handouts,” multiple reports found that Moreno received a “sweetheart deal” to open his first car dealership. Reports also found that Mercedes-Benz “pulled strings” to help Moreno and that he “leveraged his family connections” – including the “Moreno Family Cash Reserves” – to build his businesses in addition to extra “financial assistance” and “special favors.”

Read more:

• Associated Press: Senate candidate Bernie Moreno campaigns as an outsider. His wealthy family is politically connected

• New York Times: He’s Running for Senate With an Immigrant’s Origin Story. Here’s the Rest.

• Mother Jones: Bernie Moreno Says He Built His Car Dealer Empire All on His Own. The Reality Is More Complicated.

• Business Insider: Ohio GOP Senate nominee Bernie Moreno benefited from the kind of diversity initiative that Republicans hate

• Cleveland.com: Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno’s background faces national scrutiny in New York Times

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