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NEW: Bernie Moreno Secured $40 Million In Financing To Open New Car Dealership While Lying About Selling All Of His Businesses

The Statehouse News Bureau: “Moreno Sought And Signed Off On $40 Million Worth Of Mercedes-Benz Financing And Bought A Plot Of Property In Sunbury For The Auto Storefront, According To Delaware County Recorder’s Office Documents.”

Columbus, OH – Following reporting from NBC News that caught Bernie Moreno “preparing a return to the auto industry,” new reporting revealed Bernie Moreno “sought and signed off on $40 million worth of Mercedes-Benz financing” to open a new car dealership in Sunbury despite telling Ohioans “for more than a year that he sold off business interests.”

Read More:

The Statehouse News Bureau: In US Senate race, unions chide Moreno for central Ohio dealership plans
Sarah Donaldson
September 7, 2024

  • [Labor unions] bashed the political newcomer [Bernie Moreno] Friday over plans to construct a car dealership north of Columbus.
  • Moreno has maintained for more than a year that he sold off business interests, including more than a dozen car dealerships he once owned in the Midwest, in preparation for political candidacy.
  • “I’ve sold all my operating businesses,” he said in November 2023. “I wanted to go to Washington, D.C., free of any conflicts of interest. No individual stocks, no individual bonds, no corporate holdings. I’ve made that sacrifice to run for the U.S. Senate.”
  • But Moreno sought and signed off on $40 million worth of Mercedes-Benz financing and bought a plot of property in Sunbury for the auto storefront, according to Delaware County Recorder’s Office documents. NBC News originally broke the story.
  • Union leaders with the local AFL-CIO, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council and United Auto Workers held a news conference across the street from the future auto storefront Friday…
  • Dorsey Hager, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbus/Central Ohio Building & Construction Trades Council, said it’s not about the investments themselves.
  • “It’s a free market economy,” Hager said. “But when he comes out and he wins the primary and he says he’s going to focus 100% on his Senate run, and then if he gets elected, focus on the workers in Ohio, obviously that’s a very dishonest statement … It’s going to be his name on the dealership…”

LISTEN TO MORE FROM THE STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU HERE

Jeff Gase, UAW Region 2B Central Ohio CAP Council Chairperson: “[Moreno’s] just a big fat cat. He wants all the profits. He wants the money. Wants it for himself.”

Sarah Donaldson, The Statehouse News Bureau: “…union leaders were standing in front of the quintessential union mascot, a fat cat inflatable it basked in the sun Friday off a busy road in Sunbury, across from a plot of property Moreno bought earlier this year that will eventually host a Mercedes Benz dealership.”

Jamie Shumaker, Ohio AFL-CIO Central Ohio CLC Executive Director: “I don’t buy [Moreno’s excuses] one bit.”

SEE ALSO: NEW: Car Salesman Bernie Moreno Caught “Preparing Return To Auto Industry” After Claiming He “Sold Off All Of His Business To Avoid Conflicts Of Interest”; “New Controversy” For Bernie Moreno As He’s Caught Getting Back Into Car Dealership Business; Bernie Moreno “Under Scrutiny” One Week After Getting Caught “Preparing A Return To Auto Industry”

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BAD NEWS BERNIE: Moreno Caught Destroying More Evidence, Spreading “False” Claims, Says Majority Of Ohioans “Cheat[ed]” To Pass Abortion Rights

Columbus, OH – It’s been another terrible week for car salesman Bernie Moreno after new reporting from Spectrum News revealed Moreno destroyed even more evidence than previously reported to get out of paying his employees. Plus, Moreno is facing scrutiny after new audio uncovered by the Columbus Dispatch revealed Bernie Moreno claimed the majority of Ohioans “cheat[ed]” to pass abortion rights.

NEED-TO-KNOW THIS WEEK:

  • In new audio uncovered by the Columbus Dispatch, Bernie Moreno claimed the majority of Ohioans “cheat[ed]” to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution last year.
  • MORE fact checks exposed Moreno’s lies – correcting the record that Moreno has been sued “at least 50 times” and that his attacks against Sherrod are “false.”

📄 MORENO DESTROYED EVEN MORE DOCUMENTS: Spectrum News uncovered “previously unreported court records” that show Bernie Moreno destroyed even more evidence to get out of paying his employees the overtime they had earned, including “daily schedules.” When asked why he destroyed evidence and stole wages, Moreno echoed lies that multiple fact-checks have already debunked as “false.”

WATCH MORE FROM SPECTRUM NEWS HERE

Spectrum News: “But the judge sanctioned Moreno for destroying evidence, including monthly overtime reports and previously unreported court records also show Moreno either lost or destroyed daily schedules that could have been used to corroborate the monthly reports.”

❌ BERNIE ASPIRES TO OVERRULE THE WILL OF OHIOANS: New audio uncovered by the Columbus Dispatch this week revealed Bernie Moreno claimed the majority of Ohioans “cheat[ed]” to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution last year. Moreno has repeatedly supported overruling the will of Ohio voters by passing a national abortion ban and has said he is “100% pro-life, no exceptions.”

🔥 CHECK YOUR FACTS, BERNIE: Two recent fact checks make it clear Ohioans can’t trust a word Pants-On-Fire Bernie Moreno says – from lying about the “at least 50 times” he has been sued, which is “much more than” what Moreno has falsely claimed on the campaign trail, to Moreno spreading “misleading” and “false” claims in ads.

🤥 “NOTHING BUT A LIAR”: That’s what Ohio workers in Martins Ferry called Bernie Moreno this week as they “slam[med]” him for “screwing” his employees. Workers across the state have “condemn[ed]” Moreno for “lying to [workers’] faces,” “selling out workers,” and “stiffing his employees.”

 🗞️ WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING THIS WEEK:

  • PolitiFact: “We rate [Moreno’s] claim False.”
  • TiffinOhio.net: “An investigation by WKYC has uncovered that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno has been sued more than 50 times by former employees, significantly more than the five lawsuits he claimed in a recent interview.”
  • FOX: “Moreno has said he would vote for a national abortion ban…”
  • The Columbus Dispatch: “Moreno appears to harbor frustration about the decision to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution.”
  • Jezebel: Ohio GOP Senate Candidate Blames Abortion Victory on Organizers Cheating & Evangelicals Not Voting
  • Spectrum News: “… financial disclosures show Moreno still manages a company that is developing a new Mercedes-Benz dealership in the Columbus area.”
  • Times Leader: “…Moreno testified that he did not retain documents from the dealership when he sold it as part of M11 Motors LLC to new owners. Moreno added that he shredded documents sometime in late 2020.”
  • WTOV: “Union leaders attacked Moreno’s integrity about business decisions affecting his employees.”
  • Daniel Lippman, POLITICO: “… a trust belonging in part to the wealthy Republican Senate candidate [Bernie Moreno] was more than a year late on paying a $20,000 tax bill on a house that it owns.”

🐤 TWEET OF THE WEEK:

🎶 CODA: “[Moreno’s] always been for himself…”

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New Reporting Reveals Bernie Moreno Destroyed Even More Evidence To Get Out Of Paying Employees

Moreno Accidentally Reveals His Actions Were Worse Than Previously Reported

Columbus, OH – New reporting from Spectrum News revealed “previously unreported court records” that show Bernie Moreno destroyed even more evidence to get out of paying his employees the overtime they had earned, including “daily schedules.” When asked about why he destroyed evidence and stole wages, Moreno echoed lies that multiple fact-checks have already debunked as “false.”

WATCH MORE FROM SPECTRUM NEWS HERE

Spectrum News: “Bernie Moreno has faced more than a dozen lawsuits alleging underpayment.”

Spectrum News: “[One lawsuit] was filed seven years ago by a former employee of Moreno’s Mercedes-Benz dealership in Burlington, Massachusetts. The lawsuit alleges Moreno did not pay the worker for overtime…

Spectrum News: “But the judge sanctioned Moreno for destroying evidence, including monthly overtime reports and previously unreported court records also show Moreno either lost or destroyed daily schedules that could have been used to corroborate the monthly reports.”

Spectrum News: “Lynn Salagovic, who oversees payroll for all of Moreno’s dealerships, explains the employees earned a commission-based salary so they didn’t clock in and out despite a law requiring it.”

Lynn Salagovic, Oversaw Payroll For All Of Moreno’s Dealerships: “We were at fault…”

Spectrum News: “Moreno ended up losing the lawsuit and paying more than $400,000in damages.”

Bernie Moreno: “Listen, unfortunately, we have radical judges…”

Harri Leigh, Spectrum News: “Right…but the judge in this case was appointed by a Republican.”

Read More About Moreno’s Record Stiffing His Employees And Destroying Evidence To Get Out Of Paying His Workers:

  • Business Insider: Trump-backed Ohio Senate candidate shredded documents as he faced a lawsuit accusing him of wage theft
  • WKYC: No, Bernie Moreno’s claims that Massachusetts courts overturned federal law in wage theft lawsuits and made rulings retroactive are not true: VERIFY
  • Mother Jones: A GOP Senate Candidate Blames “Liberal” Judges for His Labor Violations. Just One Problem With That. The judges were largely appointed by Republicans.
  • WKYC: How many times was Ohio US Senate candidate Bernie Moreno sued during his business career? VERIFY

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Bernie Moreno Was “Sued At Least 50 Times” For Refusing To Pay His Employees

WKYC: How Many Times Was Ohio US Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno Sued During His Business Career? VERIFY

Columbus, OH – Last week, reporting from WKYC found Bernie Moreno has been sued by his former employees “at least 50 times” which is “much more than” what Moreno has falsely claimed on the campaign trail. 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, including one case where he deliberately destroyed evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying them.

Read / Watch More:

WATCH MORE FROM WKYC HERE

WKYC: How many times was Ohio US Senate candidate Bernie Moreno sued during his business career? VERIFY
Stephanie Haney
August 28, 2024

  • In an interview with The Vindicator in the Youngstown area, Moreno told the publication he was sued just five times in 15 years of business.
  • If you search for “Bernie Moreno Companies” as a defendant on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas online docket, 13 cases show up. A search in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, reveals at least 10 lawsuits against Moreno’s M11 Motors, LLC.
  • There was at least one administrative action against Moreno’s M10 Motors Inc. in Florida, and a search of federal court records shows multiple lawsuits against Moreno’s companies in Ohio, Florida, and California naming M1 Motors Inc., M2 Motors Inc., M10 Motors Inc., M10 Motors LLC, and Bernie Moreno Companies.
  • So we can VERIFY that this claim is false. Moreno was not sued just five times in 15 years of business. It was much more than that.
  • I told Moreno’s campaign that we uncovered dozens of court cases involving his companies, and asked for his comment on that… His campaign didn’t address lawsuits filed in any other state, including the 13 that show up in Cuyahoga County alone.

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One Week Ago, Firefighters Greeted JD Vance With a “Chorus of Boos” – Surprising No One in Ohio

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, JD Vance went to speak to a group of firefighters last week and was promptly greeted with a chorus of boos, especially when he claimed that he was part of the most “pro-worker ticket in history.” 

It’s not surprising, considering Vance’s track record of only working for himself while Ohio workers fall behind. One of JD’s few tangible policy positions while in the Senate was opposing the PRO Act, which has been called the “holy grail of labor reform” and voted against NLRB rules that would give workers more leverage when organizing and negotiating. 

And he defended his running mate after he celebrated firing striking workers and stood by his side even after he referred to unions as “dues-sucking.” So much for the “most pro-worker ticket in history.”

“Firefighters in Boston spoke for all of us when they told JD Vance loud and clear they saw through his blatantly false claims about his record on labor,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Vance’s reception comes as no surprise to Ohioans who watched him turn his back on them in favor of chasing power for himself . We may have buyers’ remorse, but we’re going to make sure the rest of the country doesn’t too.