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Hyundai’s finance unit illegally seized military vehicles, feds allege
The American financial arm of Hyundai and Kia repossessed more than two dozen vehicles leased by U.S. military personnel without first obtaining court orders as required by law, federal prosecutors alleged Wednesday.
Hyundai Capital America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor America and Kia America, violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act between 2015 and 2023 by repossessing 26 vehicles owned by military personnel who began repaying their loans before beginning active duty, according to a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in Los Angeles federal court.
In 2017, for example, Hyundai Capital America seized and sold a three-year-old Hyundai Elantra belonging to Navy aviator Jessica Johnson after determining she was on active duty but “not deployed,” according to legal documents. Johnson still owed $13,769 on the car, and the company realized in 2020 that it should not have repossessed the vehicle, according to the complaint.
Hyundai Capital America, based in Irvine, California, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Members of the military should not suffer financial hardship due to their service, according to the Justice Department, which in recent years has resolved similar complaints against the financial arms of General Motors, Nissan and Wells Fargo.
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