The Chattanooga tow truck company owner accused of illegally selling vehicles across the Southeast has pleaded guilty to thefts in the past and is connected to a trail of bankruptcy, debt and property foreclosures in several states, public records show.
Benjamin Wade Elliott Duvall, 43, faces 28 charges after the Chattanooga Police Department and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office executed search warrants at his home and business Tuesday. The arrest at his car lot on Daisy Dallas Road in Hixson was not Duvall’s first encounter with law enforcement, according to public records.
Duvall’s bond was set at $280,000, according to Hamilton County General Sessions court clerks. He remained at the Hamilton County jail as of Wednesday night.
(READ MORE: How to bail out of jail in Hamilton County)
PUBLIC RECORDS
Duvall pleaded guilty to felony theft between $2,500 and $10,000 in Franklin County, Tennessee, on Oct. 11, 2022, court records show. He was charged by a grand jury with six crimes related to stealing motor vehicles and cash. Those charges included four counts of theft of property and two counts of hindering a secured creditor.
He was ordered to pay restitution, avoid contact with his victims and placed on probation for two years, ending in 2024, Franklin County Circuit Court records said.
He previously pleaded guilty to theft of property in Hamilton County in 2021, a case for which he still owes court fees, according to online Hamilton County General Sessions Court records. He was placed on probation, ordered to stay out of Walmart and was required to complete 40 hours of community service.
Arrested tow company owner’s history includes bankruptcy, guilty pleas
Duvall has been associated with more than 20 business entities since the early 2000s, including companies involved in towing, consulting, credit services and promotional work. He’s listed as the chief executive officer, owner or authorized representative for businesses in Atlanta and Woodstock, Georgia, Huntsville, and one company in Starke, Florida.
Public records show at least seven judgments or liens against Duvall. Southeast Bank filed a lien on Duvall and Choo Choo Towing & Recovery for $6,314 in Hamilton County General Sessions Court on Aug. 25. A $92,000 federal tax lien was filed against him in 2007 by the IRS in Fulton County (Georgia) Superior Court, and the state of Georgia filed a lien for at least $326 worth of unpaid state taxes in 2012. Duvall also had other liens against him worth several thousand dollars.
Duvall is tied to at least 30 different addresses, records indicated, and is tied to four current properties in Atlanta and Canton, Georgia, including single-family residences and a condominium. Notices of default were filed on at least three prior properties tied to him.
Duvall also filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in 2003, according to court records.
ARREST REPORT
Tow truck companies can legally sell vehicles through a mechanic’s lien, which is when the Tennessee Department of Revenue allows businesses like mechanic shops and wreckers to claim ownership of a vehicle if a customer refuses to pay for services for the vehicle. Duvall would allegedly sell towed cars without filing mechanic’s liens, police said, and he would also allegedly file fraudulent mechanic’s lien paperwork, quote unrealistic, made-up costs for repair work and dodge calls from customers.
Pending charges against Ben Duvall
— Racketeering enterprise
— Operation of an unlawful chop shop
— Theft of services
— Harassment
— Criminal conspiracy
— Two counts of forgery
— Two counts of altering, falsifying or forging evidence of titles
— Six counts of theft of property
— Six counts of criminal simulation
— Seven counts of fraudulent transfer of a motor vehicle
Source: Hamilton County District Attorney’s office
In his most recent arrest, a report obtained Wednesday outlined new information on how the investigation unfolded.
Chattanooga police received a call June 17 from a person reporting a white 2017 Nissan Pathfinder stolen after the alleged victim said he spent months trying to retrieve his vehicle. The man told police he purchased a vehicle from a Kentucky-based company, but the consignment agreement was with Riverbend Motors in Chattanooga.
He later received an invoice in the mail from Choo Choo Towing & Recovery asking for more than $7,000 for various repairs, storage and paperwork fees. The arrest report said an officer spoke with Duvall by phone, and Duvall said he would reach out to the man.
At this stage in the investigation, authorities had one report and minimal information available to them, Chattanooga police spokesperson Elisa Myzal said. Authorities were not yet aware of the additional alleged cases that have since been identified.
Duvall knew police were investigating him, she said by email, yet he continued to allegedly defraud people even after meeting with investigators.
Chattanooga auto crimes investigators said Duvall allegedly took possession of vehicles through towing, failing to follow required procedures for notifying registered owners or lienholders, and then sold the cars at a fraction of market value.
A month later, First South Financial Credit Union told police the bank held the SUV’s title. When the case reached Chattanooga auto crimes detectives in August, the arrest report said, investigators said police had tried to contact Duvall’s tow company over 20 times.
The credit union provided proof of ownership along with copies of the consignment agreement and towing invoice. Detectives noted in the arrest report that the invoice listed storage fees beginning almost a month before the consignment date and included no signatures and was not sent to the victim or the credit union by certified mail.
Based on those facts, police believed that Riverbend Motors and Choo Choo Towing & Recovery were working together to defraud the civilian victim and the credit union of the white 2017 Nissan Pathfinder. Those accused companies were administratively dissolved in August, the Tennessee secretary of state’s online business entity search said.
When Duvall was charged Tuesday, police said his damages to the community exceeded $100,000. Investigators added that seven alleged victims are helping move the case forward. Chattanooga police auto crimes unit investigators Brian McClard and Kevin Orsburn said Duvall could have illegally sold hundreds of cars and that they confirmed around 50.
Not every vehicle transaction by Duvall was necessarily part of his alleged crimes, investigators said, as he has purchased and resold some from dealers and auctions.
Duvall did not answer calls or texts sent to his two phones. The Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office said by phone it has received his case but has not assigned him an attorney as of Wednesday.
Contact breaking news reporter Mason Edwards at medwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6409.