A Texas plumber has sued AutoNation for $1 million after his truck ended up in the hands of Islamic militants in Syria with his company decal and phone number still plastered on the side.
According to Fox News, Mark Oberholtzer said he sold his 2005 Ford F-250 to AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway in Houston in 2013.
Months later, he said the truck began appearing in jihadi propaganda photos and video on websites like Twitter. In addition to seeing his truck newly mounted with an anti-aircraft gun and the black flag of jihad, he said he also began receiving death threats over the phone.
"My secretary called me and said, "You can’t believe this,'" Oberholtzer
told ABC News. "I really at first thought it was just somebody playing with us."
According to CNN, "Most of the calls were harassing and threatened violence and included the 'yelling [of] expletives at whomever answered the phone,' the 'singing in Arabic for the duration of the phone call' and 'threats of injury or death' made against Oberholtzer's family and employees."
The plumber said he was questioned by both FBI and Homeland Security officials after he reported the bizarre tale to authorities.
Oberholtzer claims that he asked the dealership if he should remove his company info from the side of the truck before releasing it, but employees said they'd prefer to take it off themselves so as not to damage the paint job before it went up for auction.
Apparently, the truck was soon auctioned off to a buyer in Turkey, and ultimately ended up in Syria, in the hands of either Islamic State militants (according to ABC News) or members of the Ansar al-Deen Front terrorist group (
according to Fox News).
"The truck came in on trade and was immediately sent to auction. The auctions in most accounts will prep the vehicles. We have the paperwork that shows the steps the vehicle took," AutoNation said in a statement. "It is unfortunate that the customer has had to go through this."
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