Local News in Brief : Bankruptcy Trustee Shuts Car Dealers

The federal bankruptcy trustee charged with overseeing the operations of two Glendora auto sales companies since October has closed the firms.

Grand Chevrolet Inc. and Grand Motors Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors in August amid allegations of fraud from the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The companies’ president, Eminiano (Jun) Reodica, disappeared just before the bankruptcy filing.

The companies reopened under the direction of trustee Irving Sulmeyer, but sales at both dealerships lagged. Sulmeyer said Wednesday that he is waiting for an audit to determine the companies’ debt and will formulate a liquidation plan in the coming weeks.

Grand Chevrolet was ranked in 1987 as the country’s third-biggest car dealership in sales and grew to become the largest minority-owned enterprise in Southern California. DMV investigators alleged that Reodica’s companies had inflated sales figures, duped customers into signing documents that added extra charges and processed loans through more than one lender.