An investigation found a vehicle auctioneer owed Baltimore $480k. The city couldn’t revoke the license.
But city officials could not revoke the company’s license, the law department said in its response, “because the Auction Advisory Board lacked a quorum, and its sole member had a decadeslong relationship as employer, mentor and business partners.”
The investigation, which accused the company of improperly mixing city money with its own accounts, is the latest accusation of problematic practices among the city’s auction vendors.
It revealed the company continued operating as a vendor for the city after its contract expired, and it owed the city more than $575,000 for four vehicle auctions between June and August of 2018.
The report, released Wednesday, said the company was the city’s second auction vendor to fail to pay back large amounts of revenue to Baltimore in the previous 20 years.
