" ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

112TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REVIEW NO. 

11–7565 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF 

REPRESENTATIVES 

————— 

Report and Findings 

Transmitted to the 

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 

on February 9, 2012 

and released publicly pursuant to H. Res. 895 of the 

110th Congress as amended 

February 2012 


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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

74–518 

" ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 112th Congress 

2d Session 

REVIEW NO. 

201

11–7565 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF 

REPRESENTATIVES 

————— 

Report and Findings 

Transmitted to the 

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 

on February 9, 2012 

and released publicly pursuant to H. Res. 895 of the 

110th Congress as amended 

February 2012 


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(II) 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS BOARD 

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TWELTH CONGRESS

PORTER GOSS, Chair 

DAVID SKAGGS, Co-Chair 

YVONNE BURKE 

KARAN ENGLISH 

ALLISON HAYWARD 

JAY EAGEN 

WILLIAM FRENZEL 

ABNER MIKVA 

OMAR S. ASHMAWY, Chief Counsel & Staff 

Director 

KEDRIC L. PAYNE, Deputy Chief Counsel 


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REPORT 

REVIEW NO. 11–7565 

The Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics, by a vote of no 

less than four members, on January 27, 2012, adopted the following report and ordered it to be transmitted to the Committee on 

Ethics of the United States House of Representatives. 

SUBJECT: Representative Vern Buchanan 

NATURE OF THE ALLEGED VIOLATION: Representative Vern 

Buchanan’s former business partner claims that Representative 

Buchanan made a $2.9 million lawsuit settlement agreement contingent on the business partner signing a false affidavit to be filed 

with the Federal Election Commission (‘‘FEC’’). The affidavit was 

related to allegations that individuals who contributed to Vern 

Buchanan for Congress received reimbursements from automobile 

dealerships owned by Representative Buchanan. 

If Representative Buchanan attempted to influence the testimony 

of a witness in a proceeding before the FEC in the manner alleged, 

he may have violated 18 U.S.C. §§ 201, 1505, and 1512, and House 

Rule 23, clause 1. 

RECOMMENDATION: The Board of the Office of Congressional 

Ethics recommends that the Committee on Ethics further review 

the above allegations because there is substantial reason to believe 

that Representative Buchanan attempted to influence the testimony of a witness in a proceeding before the FEC in violation of 

18 U.S.C. §§ 201, 1505, and 1512, and House Rule 23, clause 1. 

VOTES IN THE AFFIRMATIVE: 6 

VOTES IN THE NEGATIVE: 0 

ABSTENTIONS: 0 

MEMBER OF THE BOARD OR STAFF DESIGNATED TO 

PRESENT THIS REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS: 

Omar S. Ashmawy, Staff Director & Chief Counsel. 


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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 5 

A. Summary of Allegations ................................................................... 5 

B. Jurisdictional Statement .................................................................. 6 

C. Procedural History ............................................................................ 6 

D. Summary of Investigative Activity .................................................. 6 

II. REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN’S FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER 

WAS ASKED TO SIGN A FALSE AFFIDAVIT TO BE FILED WITH 

THE FEC DURING SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS WITH REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN ................................................................... 7 

A. Law, Regulations, Rules, and Standards of Conduct ..................... 7 

B. Representative Buchanan Asked His Former Business Partner 

to Sign an Affidavit to be Submitted to the Federal Election 

Commission ..................................................................................... 8 

C. The Affidavit to be Filed with the Federal Election Commission 

Contained False Statements .......................................................... 10 

D. There is Substantial Reason to Believe that Representative 

Buchanan Knew the Affidavit Was False ..................................... 13 

III. THE AFFIDAVIT INCLUDED ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS THAT 

MAY BE FALSE ......................................................................................... 16 

IV. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 18 

V. INFORMATION THE OCE WAS UNABLE TO OBTAIN AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS ............... 19 


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FINDINGS OF FACT AND CITATIONS TO LAW 

Review No. 11–7565 

On January 27, 2012, the Board of the Office of Congressional 

Ethics (the ‘‘Board’’) adopted the following findings of fact and accompanying citations to law, regulations, rules, and standards of 

conduct (in italics). 

The Board notes that these findings do not constitute a determination that a violation actually occurred. 

I. INTRODUCTION 

1. On October 2, 2008, Representative Buchanan’s attorney sent 

to Representative Buchanan’s Former Business Partner a sevenpage Confidential Settlement Communication. The settlement was 

related to various legal disputes between Representative Buchanan 

and Former Business Partner concerning their automobile dealerships. 

2. The settlement agreement was signed by Representative 

Buchanan and included an affidavit for Former Business Partner’s 

signature. The affidavit concerned reimbursements given to individuals who contributed to Representative Buchanan’s campaign 

committee, Vern Buchanan for Congress. 

3. The affidavit required Former Business Partner to state that, 

prior to September 2008, he had no knowledge of any reimbursements given to individuals who contributed to Vern Buchanan for 

Congress. The affidavit also required him to consent to Representative Buchanan filing the sworn statement with the Federal Election 

Commission (‘‘FEC’’). 

4. Former Business Partner refused to sign the affidavit because 

he said it was not true. Former Business Partner claims that Representative Buchanan continued to pressure him to sign the affidavit and he continued to refuse to sign. 

A. SUMMARY OF ALLEGATIONS 

5. Representative Buchanan’s former business partner claims 

that Representative Buchanan made a $2.9 million settlement 

agreement contingent on Former Business Partner signing a false 

affidavit. The affidavit was to be filed with the FEC. If Representative Buchanan attempted to influence the testimony of an individual in proceedings before the FEC, he may have violated federal 

law and House rules. 

6. The Board finds that there is substantial reason to believe 

that Representative Buchanan violated 18 U.S.C. §§ 201, 1505, and 

1512, and House Rule 23, clause 1, by attempting to influence his 

Former Business Partner’s sworn statement to be filed with the 

FEC. 


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1 H. Res. 895, 110th Cong. § 1(e), as amended (the ‘‘Resolution’’). 

2 A preliminary review is ‘‘requested’’ in writing by members of the Board of the OCE. The 

request for a preliminary review is ‘‘received’’ by the OCE on a date certain. According to the 

Resolution, the timeframe for conducting a preliminary review is thirty days from the date of 

receipt of the Board’s request. 3 According to the Resolution, the Board must vote on whether to conduct a second-phase review in a matter before the expiration of the thirty-day preliminary review. If the Board votes 

for a second-phase, the second-phase begins when the preliminary review ends. The secondphase review does not begin on the date of the Board vote. 

B. JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT 

7. The allegations that are the subject of this review concern 

Representative Vern Buchanan, a Member of the United States 

House of Representatives for the 13th District of Florida. The Resolution the United States House of Representatives adopted creating 

the Office of Congressional Ethics (‘‘OCE’’) directs that ‘‘[n]o review 

shall be undertaken . . . by the board of any alleged violation that 

occurred before the date of adoption of this resolution.’’ 1 The House 

adopted this Resolution on March 11, 2008. Because the conduct 

under review occurred after March 11, 2008, the OCE has jurisdiction in this matter. 

C. PROCEDURAL HISTORY 

8. The OCE received a written request for a preliminary review 

in this matter signed by at least two members of the Board on September 28, 2011. The preliminary review commenced on September 

29, 2011.2 The preliminary review was scheduled to end on October 

28, 2011. 

9. At least three members of the Board voted to initiate a secondphase review in this matter on October 28, 2011. The second-phase 

review commenced on October 29, 2011.3 The second-phase review 

was scheduled to end on December 12, 2011. 

10. The Board voted to extend second-phase review for an additional period of fourteen days on December 2, 2011. The secondphase review ended on December 26, 2011. 

11. The Board voted to refer the matter to the Committee on 

Ethics and adopted these findings on January 27, 2012. 

12. This report and findings were transmitted to the Committee 

on Ethics on February 9, 2012. 

D. SUMMARY OF INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITY 

13. The OCE requested and received testimonial and, in some 

cases, documentary information from the following sources: 

(1) Buchanan Automotive Group Chief Financial Officer; 

(2) Former Business Partner; 

(3) Hyundai of North Jacksonville Chief Financial Officer; 

(4) Hyundai of North Jacksonville Comptroller; 

(5) Sarasota Ford Finance Director; 

(6) Venice Nissan Dodge Finance Manager 1; 

(7) Venice Nissan Dodge Finance Manager 2; and 

(8) Venice Nissan Dodge Finance Director. 

14. The following individuals consented to an interview with the 

OCE, but declined to produce documents in response to Requests 

for Information and were determined to be non-cooperating witnesses: 

(1) Shelby Curtsinger, Co-Owner, Venice Nissan Dodge; and 


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(2) Dennis Slater, Chief Operating Officer, Buchanan Automotive Group. 

15. The following individuals declined to produce documentary 

and testimonial information in response to Requests for Information and were determined to be non-cooperating witnesses: 

(1) Representative Vern Buchanan; 

(2) Don Caldwell, Sales Manager, Venice Nissan Dodge; 

(3) Kenneth Lybarger, Comptroller, Suncoast Ford; 

(4) Gary Scarbrough, Co-Owner, Suncoast Ford; and 

(5) John Tosch, President, 1099 Management Co., LLC. 

II. REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN’S FORMER BUSINESS 

PARTNER WAS ASKED TO SIGN A FALSE AFFIDAVIT TO 

BE FILED WITH THE FEC DURING SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS WITH REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN 

A. LAW, REGULATIONS, RULES, AND STANDARDS OF CONDUCT 

18 U.S.C. § 1505 

16. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1505, ‘‘[w]hoever corruptly, or by 

threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, 

or impede the due and proper administration of the law under 

which any pending proceeding is being had before any department 

or agency of the United States, or the due and proper exercise of the 

power of inquiry under which any inquiry or investigation is being 

had by either House, or any committee of either House or any joint 

committee of the Congress . . . [s]hall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years . . . or both.’’ 

18 U.S.C. § 1512 

17. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1512, ‘‘[w]hoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another 

person, with intent to— influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of 

any person in an official proceeding . . . shall be fined under this 

title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both . . . [w]hoever 

corruptly . . . obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.’’ 

18 U.S.C. § 201 

18. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(3), ‘‘[w]hoever . . . directly or 

indirectly, corruptly gives, offers, or promises anything of value to 

any person, or offers or promises such person to give anything of 

value to any other person or entity, with intent to influence the testimony under oath or affirmation of such first-mentioned person as 

a witness upon a trial, hearing, or other proceeding, before any 

court, any committee of either House or both Houses of Congress, or 

any agency, commission, or officer authorized by the laws of the 

United States to hear evidence or take testimony, or with intent to 

influence such person to absent himself therefrom . . . shall be 

fined under this title or not more than three times the monetary 

equivalent of the thing of value, whichever is greater, or imprisoned 


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4Letter from Roger Gannam, Counsel for Representative Buchanan, to Former Business Partner, dated October 2, 2008 (‘‘Binding Settlement Term Sheet’’) (Exhibit 1 at 11–7565_0002– 

0008). 5 Id. at 11–7565_0002. 6 Id. at 11–7565_0002–0003. 7 Id. at 11–7565_0003. 

for not more than fifteen years, or both, and may be disqualified 

from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United 

States.’’ 

House Rule 23, clause 1 

19. Under House Rule 23 clause 1, Members ‘‘shall behave at all 

times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.’’ 

B. REPRESENTATIVE BUCHANAN ASKED HIS FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER TO SIGN AN AFFIDAVIT TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE FEDERAL 

ELECTION COMMISSION 

20. On October 2, 2008, Representative Buchanan’s attorney, 

Roger Gannam, emailed a ‘‘Revised Binding Settlement Term 

Sheet’’ to Former Business Partner’s attorney, James H. Post.4 The 

stated purpose of the letter was to ‘‘resolve existing claims among 

[the parties] with respect to all past and current business relationships.’’ 5

21. Among other things, the settlement agreement provided that 

Representative Buchanan’s company, 1099 Management Co., LLC, 

would transfer $2.9 million to certain dealerships owned by Former 

Business Partner and retire the debts of other dealerships.6

22. In return, the agreement required Former Business Partner, 

within 48 hours of execution of the agreement, to ‘‘cause all existing litigation against Vernon G. Buchanan (‘Buchanan’), 1099 and 

any of their affiliated businesses or entities to be immediately dismissed with prejudice and within that same time frame will furnish a copy of the notices of dismissal that have been forwarded to 

the respective courts for filing.’’ 7


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8 Id. at 11–7565_0005. 9 Id. 

10 Id. at 11–7565_0007–0008. 11 Id. at 11–7565_0007. 12 Id. 13 Id. at 11–7565_0008. 

23. Also, pursuant to the agreement, Representative Buchanan 

would release Former Business Partner ‘‘and his affiliated interests 

from all claims other than those contemplated by this agreement.’’ 8

Affidavit for the Federal Election Commission 

24. The agreement provided that ‘‘further conditions to the disbursement of the [$2.9 million]’’ required Former Business Partner’s ‘‘execution of the Affidavit attached hereto as Exhibit A.’’ 9

25. Exhibit A of the settlement agreement was an affidavit titled 

‘‘Affidavit of Sam Kazran a/k/a Sam Khazrwan.’’ 10

26. The affidavit stated that ‘‘[d]uring the course of tense and 

somewhat hostile negotiations between my lawyers and me, and 

representatives for Buchanan, I advised a representative of 

Buchanan that one or more of the dealerships of which I was in 

operational control had reimbursed certain individuals who had 

contributed to the Buchanan for Congress campaign.’’ 11

27. The affidavit consisted of eight paragraphs. Former Business 

Partner was to sign the affidavit, under the penalty of perjury, 

swearing that it was true to the best of his knowledge.12

28. Finally, the affidavit required Former Business Partner to 

consent ‘‘to Buchanan filing this Affidavit with the Federal Election 

Commission . . . .’’ 13

29. Former Business Partner told the OCE that he signed the 

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14Memorandum of Interview of Former Business Partner, December 6, 2011 (‘‘Former Business Partner MOI’’) (Exhibit 2 at 11–7565_0013). 15 Id. 16 Binding Settlement Term Sheet (Exhibit 1 at 11–7565_0006). 17Former Business Partner MOI (Exhibit 2 at 11–7565_0013). 18 Id. 19 Id. 20 Id. 21 Audio of the voicemail is publicly available and the FEC deposition of Former Business 

Partner includes a transcript of the voicemail. Virginia Chamlee, Listen: Buchanan Voicemails 

Shed Light on Campaign Reimbursement Dispute, The Florida Independent, Sept. 22, 2011, 

http://floridaindependent.com/48504/listen-buchanan-voicemails-shed-light-on-campaign-reimbursement-dispute (‘‘Buchanan Voicemails’’); Federal Election Commission Investigative Deposition of Former Business Partner, November 6, 2009 (‘‘Former Business Partner FEC Deposition’’) (Exhibit 3 at 11–7565_0095–0100). 22Former Business Partner MOI (Exhibit 2 at 11–7565_0013). 23 Buchanan Voicemails. 24 Id. 25 Binding Settlement Term Sheet (Exhibit 1 at 11–7565_0007). 

davit.14 He said that after he signed the Revised Binding Settlement Agreement, Representative Buchanan called him to congratulate him and invite him to dinner to celebrate with him and John 

Tosch.15 Mr. Tosch is the President of Representative Buchanan’s 

company, 1099 Management Co., LLC and one of the parties to the 

settlement agreement.16

30. According to Former Business Partner, Representative 

Buchanan asked him to sign the affidavit at the dinner.17 Former 

Business Partner refused to sign the affidavit and Representative 

Buchanan got ‘‘very frustrated and got up and left.’’ 18 Mr. Tosch 

then told Former Business Partner that he had five minutes to sign 

the document, but he did not sign it.19

31. Former Business Partner said that Representative Buchanan 

called and left a voicemail message the next day.20

32. This voicemail message attributed to Representative 

Buchanan, stated, ‘‘Sam, Vern . . . we’re willing to save what we 

got and work with you. But I think the threatening of political stuff 

and all that you got more liability that you know if you start telling 

people that you reimbursed people because technically you have the 

liability.’’ 21

33. Former Business Partner told the OCE that Representative 

Buchanan left another voicemail message a few days later.22 That 

message stated, ‘‘Sam, it’s Vern. I’m just calling to see how you 

made out with the bankers and the lawyers after I didn’t hear anything. Again, I hope that we can work something out.’’ 23

34. The message also stated, ‘‘but again, I hope we can restructure it, and it will preserve your reputation there in Jacksonville. 

You don’t want to go through two years of litigation.’’ 24

35. Former Business Partner did not sign the affidavit and the 

parties did not enter into the settlement agreement. 

C. THE AFFIDAVIT TO BE FILED WITH THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION CONTAINED FALSE STATEMENTS 

Paragraph 5 of the Affidavit 

36. The affidavit included statements concerning Former Business Partner’s involvement in reimbursing certain individuals who 

contributed to Vern Buchanan for Congress.25


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26 Id. 27Former Business Partner MOI (Exhibit 2 at 11–7565_0011). 28 Id. 29 Id. at 11–7565_0012. 30 Id. 31 Id. 

37. Specifically, paragraph 5 of the affidavit required Former 

Business Partner to swear that he did not know about the reimbursed contributions until September 2008, after the reimbursements first occurred.26

Paragraph 5 of the Affidavit Was False 

38. Former Business Partner admitted to the OCE that paragraph 5 of the affidavit was false.27

39. Former Business Partner told the OCE that in late 2005 he 

began asking certain employees of Hyundai of North Jacksonville 

(‘‘HNJ’’) to contribute to Vern Buchanan for Congress.28 He said 

that he had HNJ reimburse these employees for the campaign contributions.29

40. Former Business Partner told the OCE that during the period from 2005 to 2007, he directed the following HNJ employees 

to make contributions to Vern Buchanan for Congress and receive 

reimbursements: Stephanie Champ, Gayle Lephart, Dee Smith, Joe 

Cutaia, Eric Khazravan, Vincent Sams, and Josh Farid.30

41. Former Business Partner estimated that the total amount of 

HNJ reimbursements for campaign contributions to Vern 

Buchanan for Congress was approximately $100,000.31


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32 Collection of Checks Payable to Vern Buchanan for Congress and Checks Payable to HNJ 

Employees (‘‘HNJ Campaign Contributions’’) (Exhibit 4 at 11–7565_0113–0114). 33 Id. The checks include a payment of $4,600 from Stephanie Champ to Joe Cutaia. Based 

on the testimony of HNJ Comptroller, this payment was made because Ms. Champ wrote a 

$9,200 check to Vern Buchanan for Congress and received a reimbursement of $9,200 from HNJ. 

However, Vern Buchanan for Congress returned the check because Ms. Champ could only contribute $4,600 pursuant to contribution limits. Ms. Champ then contributed $4,600 to Vern for 

Congress. Mr. Cutaia also contributed $4,600 to Vern for Congress and Ms. Champ gave him 

the $4,600 that she had been overpaid by HNJ. Memorandum of Interview of HNJ Comptroller, 

December 9, 2011 (‘‘HNJ Comptroller MOI’’) (Exhibit 5 at 11–7565_0118). 34 HNJ Comptroller MOI (Exhibit 5 at 11–7565_0118–0119). 35 Id. 36 Id. 

42. Former Business Partner provided copies of checks to the 

OCE that corroborate his statement that HNJ employees received 

reimbursements for campaign contributions to Vern Buchanan for 

Congress.32 For example, there is a check from one HNJ employee 

to Vern Buchanan for Congress that is on the same day and in the 

same amount as a payment from HNJ to the employee.33

43. HNJ Comptroller corroborated Former Business Partner’s 

testimony that he was involved in the reimbursements to HNJ employees who contributed to Vern Buchanan for Congress in 2005, 

2006, and 2007.34

44. HNJ Comptroller was responsible for all of the company’s 

banking, including payroll payments.35 She told the OCE that she 

wrote the HNJ checks to reimburse the employees who contributed 

to Vern Buchanan for Congress.36


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37 Id. 38 Id. 39 Id. 40 Id. 41 Id. 42Memorandum of Interview of HNJ Chief Financial Officer, December 5, 2011 (‘‘HNJ CFO 

MOI’’) (Exhibit 6 at 11–7565_0122–0123). 43 Id. 44 Id. 45Letter from Mark Allen, FEC Assistant General Counsel, to Former Business Partner, 

dated September 28, 2010 (Exhibit 7 at 11–7565_0125). 46 Binding Settlement Term Sheet (Exhibit 1 at 11–7565_0007). 47 Email from Former Business Partner to John Tosch, dated September 8, 2008 (‘‘September 

8, 2008 Email’’) (Exhibit 8 at 11–7565_0127–0129). 

45. HNJ Comptroller stated that the first occasion Former Business Partner told her to reimburse the campaign contributions to 

Vern Buchanan for Congress was in 2005.37

46. She explained to the OCE that Former Business Partner told 

her to write a personal check to Vern Buchanan for Congress.38

She did this and then wrote a check to herself from HNJ, making 

sure to ‘‘gross up’’ the amount of the payment from the company.39

This meant that the gross amount HNJ paid accounted for income 

taxes and the net amount was the amount of the campaign contribution.40

47. HNJ Comptroller explained that Former Business Partner 

told her which HNJ employees to reimburse for their contributions 

to Vern Buchanan for Congress and she handled each accordingly.41

48. HNJ CFO also corroborated Former Business Partner’s testimony that he was involved in the reimbursements to HNJ employees who contributed to Vern Buchanan for Congress.42

49. HNJ CFO told the OCE that he made multiple contributions 

to Vern Buchanan for Congress around 2006 and that he received 

reimbursements from HNJ.43 He told the OCE that Former Business Partner told him that he was to receive the reimbursements.44

50. The Board notes that the FEC investigated Former Business 

Partner’s involvement in the reimbursements and ‘‘found that there 

is probable cause to believe’’ that he and HNJ reimbursed individuals for their contributions to Vern Buchanan for Congress.45

D. THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL REASON TO BELIEVE THAT REPRESENTATIVE 

BUCHANAN KNEW THE AFFIDAVIT WAS FALSE 

51. The affidavit stated that neither Former Business Partner 

nor Representative Buchanan or their representatives became 

aware that reimbursements had occurred at HNJ until September 

2008.46

52. Contrary to paragraph 5 of the affidavit, Former Business 

Partner was aware of the reimbursements prior to 2008, and Representative Buchanan and his representatives first knew Former 

Business Partner’s involvement no later than September 8, 2008. 

Former Business Partner’s September 8, 2008 Email 

53. On September 8, 2008, Former Business Partner sent Mr. 

Tosch an email titled ‘‘documents for . . . review.’’ 47 Mr. Tosch is 

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48 Binding Settlement Term Sheet (Exhibit 1 at 11–7565_0006). 49 Id. 50 Id. 51 HNJ Campaign Contributions (Exhibit 4 at 11–7565_0106–0115). 52September 8, 2008 Email (Exhibit 8 at 11–7565_0127). 53Id. 

agement Co., LLC and one of the parties to the settlement agreement. 48

54. The email included attachments of ‘‘check copies’’ that 

Former Business Partner appears to have received from his former 

assistant at HNJ, Stephanie Champ.49

55. The check copies attached to the email include checks from 

HNJ employees to Vern Buchanan for Congress.50 These checks are 

also included in the documents that Former Business Partner provided to the OCE to establish that HNJ employees were reimbursed.51

56. The email states that ‘‘[t]his is the 1st set of checks, there 

are more to follow, It gives me great regret to have done this for 

Vern when he doesn’t even hesitates [sic] for a second to sue me 

and my wife over 20k. Maybe he can consider taking part of this 

80K+ as one month of payment . . . .’’ 52

57. As of September 8, 2008, Former Business Partner had informed Representative Buchanan’s representative that: (1) the reimbursements had occurred; (2) Former Business Partner had documentary evidence of the reimbursements; and (3) Former Business Partner personally knew of the reimbursements prior to September 2008.53


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54FEC MUR 6054, General Counsel’s Report #9 (‘‘FEC OGC Report’’) (Exhibit 9 at 11– 

7565_0131–0159). 55 HNJ CFO MOI (Exhibit 6 at 11–7565_0123). 56FEC OGC Report (Exhibit 9 at 11–7565_0146). 57 Id. 58See Buchanan Voicemails. 59 Id. 60 Id. 

Additional Contact with Representative Buchanan Regarding 

Contributions 

58. Prior to the September 8, 2008 email, two other emails were 

sent to Representative Buchanan or his representatives referencing 

contributions from HNJ. 

59. Former Business Partner’s September 8, 2008 email had been 

preceded by a related email from HNJ CFO to Mr. Tosch, dated 

August 27, 2008.54

60. HNJ CFO told the OCE that he sent Mr. Tosch, a representative of Representative Buchanan, an email concerning the money 

taken out of HNJ’s operating fund for the reimbursed contributions.55

61. In the email, HNJ CFO states that Mr. Buchanan asked for 

campaign contributions and HNJ supported him ‘‘to a tune of 

$80K.’’ 56

62. One day before the August 27, 2008 email from HNJ CFO to 

John Tosch, Former Business Partner sent an email to Representative Buchanan regarding the $80,000 in contributions from HNJ. 

63. On August 26, 2008, Former Business Partner sent an email 

to Representative Buchanan, stating that ‘‘I am the only one in our 

group that has donated over 80k’’ to Vern Buchanan for Congress.57

64. Although two of the three emails referenced above were sent 

to Mr. Tosch, Representative Buchanan’s knowledge of the communications is illustrated by the content of the voicemail that is attributed to him.58

65. The message begins, ‘‘Sam, Vern. Sorry I didn’t get your message, but, Sam, Mike Lindell told me the other day that you’re 

going to sue us or threatening to sue us.’’ 59 It continues, ‘‘[b]ut I 

think the threatening of political stuff and all that you got more 

liability than you know if you start telling people that you reimbursed people because technically you have the liability.’’ 60

Conclusion 

66. Former Business Partner’s testimony, the testimony of HNJ 

employees, and the documentary evidence discussed above establish that Former Business Partner was involved in reimbursing 

HNJ employees who contributed to Vern Buchanan for Congress. 

67. Representative Buchanan and his representatives were aware 

of Former Business Partner’s years of involvement in reimbursing 

HNJ employees no later than September 8, 2008. 

68. Therefore, there is substantial reason to believe that Representative Buchanan knew on October 2, 2008, at the time that 

he made the settlement agreement contingent on the affidavit, 

that: (1) Former Business Partner had information concerning the 

reimbursements prior to September 2008; and (2) paragraph 5 of 

the affidavit was false. 


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61FEC OGC Report (Exhibit 9 at 11–7565_0149). The FEC investigation of Representative 

Buchanan was limited to determining whether there were violations of 2 U.S.C. §§ 441f (contributions in the name of another) and 441a(f) (prohibited contributions and expenditures). The 

FEC investigation, unlike this Review, was not to determine whether there may have been violations 18 U.S.C. §§ 201, 1505, and 1512, and House Rule 23, clause 1. The FEC determined 

to take no further action against Representative Buchanan with respect to violations of 2 U.S.C. 

§§ 441f and 441a(f) 62 Id. 63 Binding Settlement Term Sheet (Exhibit 1 at 11–7565_0007). 64 Id. 65Former Business Partner MOI (Exhibit 2 at 11–7565_0011); HNJ CFO MOI (Exhibit 6 at 

11–7565_0122); HNJ Comptroller MOI (Exhibit 5 at 11–7565_0118–0119). 

69. The Board notes that following the FEC’s investigation of the 

reimbursements of campaign contributions from Representative 

Buchanan’s automobile dealerships, the Commission found that 

‘‘[c]ontrary to [Representative Buchanan’s] claims, the affidavit is 

not ‘entirely true.’’’ 61 It further found that paragraph 5 of the affidavit ‘‘contradicts one of [Representative Buchanan’s] key claims in 

the case—that Kazran alone directed reimbursements at HNJ during the ’06 and ’08 cycles.’’ 62 The FEC concluded that ‘‘[i]t is improbable that Buchanan’s attorneys drafted the affidavit and presented it to Kazran without Buchanan’s involvement . . . .’’ 

III. THE AFFIDAVIT INCLUDED ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS 

THAT MAY BE FALSE 

70. In addition to Representative Buchanan having knowledge of 

Former Business Partner’s involvement in reimbursing the HNJ 

employees for campaign contributions, he may have had personal 

knowledge of the reimbursements and directed such reimbursements. 

71. If Representative Buchanan had personal knowledge of the 

reimbursements to HNJ employees prior to September 2008, statements in the affidavit, in addition to paragraph 5, were false. 

72. In addition to paragraph 5 of the affidavit, paragraphs 6 and 

7 may be false. 

73. Paragraph 6 required Former Business Partner to swear that 

‘‘I attended various meetings of general managers or ‘partners’ of 

Buchanan . . . . At no time was there any statement or any form 

of encouragement to make a campaign contribution based upon a 

threat of job discrimination, financial reprisal, or other detriment 

for failure to make a contribution discussed, disseminated or suggested by Buchanan . . . . Furthermore, there never was a discussion, statement or other action which would have implied that a 

person who made a contribution to the Vernon G. Buchanan for 

Congress campaign would be reimbursed by someone or would receive a special benefit.’’ 63

74. Paragraph 7 stated that ‘‘[n]o one has advised me that 

Buchanan or any representative of his knew of any intention, plan 

or arrangement by anyone to make a reimbursement, directly or indirectly, to a person in exchange for making a contribution to 

Buchanan for Congress campaign.’’ 64

75. According to Former Business Partner and several other witnesses, Representative Buchanan intended to have individuals reimbursed for campaign contributions to his campaign.65

76. Former Business Partner told the OCE that around June 

2006, Representative Buchanan told him to collect at least $25,000 


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17 

66Former Business Partner MOI (Exhibit 2 at 11–7565_0011). 67 Id. 68 Id. 69 Id. 70Memorandum of Interview of Dennis Slater, October 25, 2011 (Exhibit 10 at 11–7565_0163). 71 HNJ Comptroller MOI (Exhibit 5 at 11–7565_0118). 72 Id. 73 Id. 74 Id. 75 HNJ CFO MOI (Exhibit 6 at 11–7565_0122). 76 Id. 77 Id. 

for his campaign. When Former Business Partner told him that he 

could not get $25,000, Representative Buchanan asked, ‘‘don’t you 

have someone you can trust to run it through the company, like 

your brother or something?’’ 66

77. Former Business Partner understood this to be an explicit direction to use the dealership to reimburse individuals for campaign 

contributions.67

78. Former Business Partner told the OCE that although June 

2006 was the first time that Representative Buchanan explicitly 

told him to reimburse campaign contributions, he overheard a conversation between Representative Buchanan, Dennis Slater, and 

David Long at a meeting of the Representative Buchanan’s business partners in late 2005 or early 2006.68 Representative 

Buchanan asked Mr. Long for a campaign contribution and Mr. 

Long replied that he could not make a contribution. In response, 

Representative Buchanan told him ‘‘don’t you know you’re going to 

get it back.’’ 69

79. Dennis Slater, the former Chief Financial Officer of the 

Buchanan Automotive Group, told the OCE that Representative 

Buchanan did not offer to reimburse him for campaign contributions.70

80. HNJ Comptroller told the OCE that around 2005 she overheard Former Business Partner speaking with Representative 

Buchanan over the telephone.71 Former Business Partner told Representative Buchanan, ‘‘Vern, I’ll handle it right now.’’ 72 Immediately following the call, Former Business Partner instructed her 

to write a personal check to Vern Buchanan for Congress and then 

to reimburse herself with a check from HNJ.73

81. She told the OCE that Former Business Partner asked her 

later, around 2007, to make a second contribution and she did so 

because she had the feeling that her employment could be terminated by Representative Buchanan if she did not.74

82. HNJ CFO told the OCE that he made contributions to Vern 

Buchanan for Congress and received reimbursements.75 He said 

that it was his understanding that Representative Buchanan directed Former Business Partner to reimburse employees who made 

campaign contributions.76 HNJ CFO said that Former Business 

Partner was on the phone with Representative Buchanan and 

Former Business Partner put the phone to HNJ CFO’s ear.77 He 

said that he heard Representative Buchanan say that ‘‘they could 

get the managers to contribute to the campaign and the dealership 


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18 

78 Id. 79 Id. 80Former Business Partner MOI (Exhibit 2 at 11–7565_0013). 81FEC OGC Report (Exhibit 9 at 11–7565_0158). 82 Id. 

to reimburse them.’’ 78 He explained that the reimbursements occurred prior to the end of 2006.79

83. Former Business Partner told the OCE that he allowed HNJ 

CFO to listen to certain calls when Representative Buchanan asked 

for campaign contributions but that Buchanan did not explicitly 

discuss reimbursing campaign contributions during these calls.80

84. The Board notes that the FEC investigated whether Representative Buchanan directed Former Business Partner to reimburse campaign contributions of HNJ employees and found that 

‘‘[t]he evidence in this case comes close to supporting a finding that 

it is more likely than not that [Representative Buchanan, Vern 

Buchanan for Congress, and Joseph Gruters] violated §§ 441f and 

441a(f).’’ 81 Due to a lack of corroborating evidence regarding 

whether Representative Buchanan instructed Former Business 

Partner to make reimbursements, the FEC decided to take no further action against Representative Buchanan.82

85. The OCE was unable to discuss with Representative 

Buchanan his involvement, if any, with directing reimbursements 

of campaign contributions because he refused to cooperate with the 

OCE Review. 

86. The following witnesses, who also were identified as having 

information relevant to determining Representative Buchanan’s involvement in reimbursing campaign contributions, did not cooperate with the Review: Don Caldwell, Shelby Curtsinger, Kenneth 

Lybarger, Gary Scarbrough, Dennis Slater, and John Tosch (collectively, ‘‘Non-Cooperating Third Parties’’). 

IV. CONCLUSION 

87. Although permitted by House Resolution 895 and OCE rules 

to draw a negative inference from the lack of cooperation of Representative Buchanan and the Non-Cooperating Third Parties, the 

Board judged the evidence adduced to be more than sufficient to 

support its determination that there is substantial reason to believe that Representative Buchanan violated federal law and House 

rules. 

88. Based on the information before the OCE, Former Business 

Partner was involved in reimbursing campaign contributions that 

HNJ employees made to Vern Buchanan for Congress prior to September 2008, making the affidavit false. 

89. Representative Buchanan and his representatives were made 

aware of this fact no later than September 8, 2008. 

90. There is substantial reason to believe Representative 

Buchanan asked Former Business Partner to sign an affidavit to 

be submitted to the FEC, that he knew to be false, and conditioned 

a $2.9 million dollar legal settlement on the signature. 

91. For the foregoing reasons, Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics recommends that the Committee on Ethics further review the above allegations because there is substantial reason to 

believe that Representative Buchanan attempted to influence the 


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19 

testimony of a witness in a proceeding before the FEC in violation 

of 18 U.S.C. §§ 201, 1505, and 1512, and House Rule 23, clause 1. 

V. INFORMATION THE OCE WAS UNABLE TO OBTAIN 

AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS 

92. The following individuals, by declining to be interviewed by 

the OCE, did not cooperate with the OCE’s review: 

a. Representative Buchanan; 

b. Don Caldwell, Sales Manager, Venice Nissan Dodge; and 

c. John Tosch, President, 1099 Management Co., LLC. 

93. The following individuals, by declining to provide documentary evidence in response to the OCE’s Requests for Information, 

did not cooperate with the OCE’s review: 

a. Shelby Curtsinger, Co-Owner, Venice Nissan Dodge; 

b. Kenneth Lybarger, Comptroller, Suncoast Ford; 

c. Gary Scarbrough, Co-Owner, Suncoast Ford; and 

d. Dennis Slater, Chief Operating Officer, Buchanan Automotive 

Group. 

94. As a result, the OCE was unable to obtain certain information regarding Representative Buchanan’s involvement in the reimbursements given to HNJ employees who contributed to Vern 

Buchanan for Congress. 

95. The Board recommends the issuance of subpoenas to Representative Buchanan, Don Caldwell, Shelby Curtsinger, Kenneth 

Lybarger, Gary Scarbrough, Dennis Slater, and John Tosch. 


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20

EXHIBIT 1 
21

J. Michael Lindell BcOJ'd Cerlljitri DJlI~ FicrkU18al' I,,; 

Civill'rial and Ehl3iness Litigario-n Law 

~lindellfim:on_com 

James A. Farson Also A.dmflt~ 111 Kemucky _@liodellrarsoo.c • .,m 

Lindell &Farson, P.A. 

Attorneys and Counselors at Law 

12276 San Jose Boulevard, Suite 126 

Jacksonville, FL 32223-8630 

Telephone: (904) 880 __ 

Fax: (904) 880-4013 

October 2, 2008 

R. Howard Walton ~lindcl(filrsDn.tOm 

Roger K. Gannam ~j'ndellfarnon_c{)m 

Via e-mail to:~smithbulsey.com 

Sam Kazran 

cia James H. Post, Esquire 

Smith Hulsey & Busey 

CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT 

COMMUNICATION 

225 Water Street, Suite 1800 

Jacksonville, FL 32202 

RE: . REVISED Binding Settlement Term Sheet 

Dear Mr. Kazran: 

The purpose of this letter is to confirm the terms upon which our clients have agreed to 

resolve existing claims among them with respect to all past and current business relationships. 

The core tenns agreed upon are a. follows: 

l. Within 48 hours of the complete execution of this agreement, 1099 Management 

Co., LLC, a Florida limited liability company ("1099") will place into escrow with the law firm 

of Lindell & Farson, P.A. the total sum of $2.9 million (the "Escrow Amount") to be applied as 

provided below. 

2.. Of this amount, $l.l million will be paid by 1099 _at cl!,si.ng f9r the pur~h~s~of 

the assets of Premier Automotive on Atlantic, LLC ("Premier Atlantic"), Premier Automotive at 

the Avenues, LLC ("Premier Avenues") and Premier Properties on Atlantic, LLC ("Premier 

Properties") including, but not limited to, all rights of those companies to conduct business as a 

Kia dealership at the addresses of9401 Atlantic Blvd. and 10845 Phi!Iips Highway, Ja~ksonvill •. 

Florida and specifically including all real estate, parts inventory, fixed assets and all new, 

previously undelivered, 2008 Kia automobiles (with less than 5,000 miles thereon), free and 

clear of all claims and encumbrances whatsoever. 

3. The conditions to the closing upon 1099's purchase of the foregoing assets are: 

SK_0012 

11-7565_0002 
22

SamKazran 

cia James H. Post, Esquire 

October 2, 2008 

Page 2 ofS 

(a) Approval by the Kia manufacturer; 

(b) Approval by the first mortgage holder with respect to the existing 

mortgage on the 940 I Atlantic Blvd. real estate; and 

(c) Clear title to all assets being conveyed (with the exception of the existing 

first mortgage on the real estate.) 

4. Out of the Escrow Amount, $1.6 million will be applied, under the oversight of 

Ira Silver, CPA, to retiring the obligations of Premier Dodge and Gwinnet!, LLC, including 

without limitation all obligations for floor plan sales out oftrust and outstanding federal and state 

tax liabilities related to the Premier Dodge operation, which out of trust and tax liabilities will be 

satisfied before any other Premier Dodge liabilities. You, Sam Kazran, agree to hold Buchanan, 

1099, and any other businesses or entities affiliated with them, harmless for all damages, as well 

as defense costs, associated with all obligations arising out of the Premier Dodge dealerships 

(hereinafter the "Premier Dodge Liabilities"). 

5. The balance of the Escrow Amount in the sum of S200,000 is earmarked as a 

reserve account to be applied to any remaining obligations to the lessor of the automobile 

dealership facility located in Duluth, Georgia and clIITently occupied by the Premier Dodge 

Dealership. Upon full satisfaction of that obligation, you, Sam Kazran, will be entitled to receive 

any balance remaining on hand in that reserve account. Should satisfaction of the obligation to 

the lessor require an amount greater than deposited into this reserve account, Kazran agrees to 

hold Buchanan, 1099, and any other businesses or entities affiliated with them, harmless for all 

damages, as well as defense costs, associated with final resolution of that obligation (hereinafter 

the "Hendrick Lease Liability"). 

6. Provided 1099 timely advances the Escrow Amount contemplated by paragraph I 

above, and otherwise tenders full performance hereunder, within 48 hours of the complete 

execution of this agreement you, Swn Kazran, will cause all existing litigation against Vernon G. 

Buchanan ("Buchanan"), 1099 and any of their affiliated businesses or entities to be immediately 

dismissed with prejUdice and within that same time frame will furnish a copy of the notices of 

dismissal that have been forwarded to the respective courts Jar filing. 

7. With respect to the existing working capital loan incurred in connection with the 

operation of the Premier Dodge Dealership in Duluth, Georgia payable to M & I Bank in the 

approximate principal sum of $800,000 under which Buchanan and one or more of his related 

entities may be obligated, you, Sam Kazran, agree that this obligation will be kept CUITent with 

the lender and that you will hold Buchanan and all of his related businesses and entities harmless 

for all damages as well as defense costs associated with that loan (the "Cap Loan Liability"). 

8. Within ninety (90) days of the full execution of this agreement, you, Sam Kazran, 

will repurchase from 1099 the assets of the Kia dealership located at 10845 Phillips Highway, 

SK_0013 

11-7565_0003 
23

Sam Kazran 

clo James H. Post, Esquire 

October 2, 2008 

Page 3 of5 

Jacksonville, Florida for the total sum, at closing, of $1 million, payable by promissory note 

bearing interest at the rate of 6%, with a term of 42 months, interest-only payments due for the 

first 12 months, principle and interest payments due for remaining 30 months calculated based 

upon a 5-year amortization, and balloon payment due for all remaining principal and interest 

after 42 months (the" Avenues Kia Note"). The conditions to the closing of the transaction will 

be: 

(a) Approval by the Kia manufacturer; and 

(b) Clear title to all assets which shall specifically include the new part, 

inventory, all new cars (subject to floor plan) and all fixed assets. 

9. With respect to the required approvals by the Kia manufacturer contemplated by 

paragraphs 3 and 8 above, the parties agree that they will diligently, and in good faith, take all 

steps necessary, within their control, to satisfy the requirements of the Kia manufacturer for 

approval. 

10. Provided you, Sam Kazran, fully perform hereunder, the promissory note dated 

December 29, 2006 in the original principal sum of $700,000 under which you, your wife, 

Gwinnett, LLC and 11-200 I, LC are listed as makers, will be deemed fully paid and satisfied. 

II. In order to secure your obligations under the Hendrick Lea,e Liability, the 

Premier Dodge Liabilities, the Cap Loan Liability, and the Avenues Kia Note, as defined above, 

you, and any of your related or affiliated businesses will grant no less than a second priority, 

enforceable security interest in the following described collateral no later than the first 

disbursement of escrow funds as contemplated above: 

Ca) All assets used, or to be used, in connection with the business of Hyundai 

of North Jacksonville both at its current location and at its anticipated new 

location in the vicinity of fnterstate 95, Broward Road, and Dunn Avenue. 

(b) All real estate owned by you, San} Kazran, 11-2001, LLC, Jacksonville 

Auto Mall, LLC, Aram Askarifar, and Qn)O'X. Devel.opm~nt. qro~p, LLC 

in the vicinity of the new location of Hyundai of North Jacksonville, 

including without limitation the 22 acres (tax parcel no. 022105-0000) 

referred to during our negotiations; and 

Cc) All rights you, Sam Kazran, or any of your partners or affiliates have to 

operate as a Hyundai dealer in the North Jacksonville area. 

(d) A local counsel, mutually agreeable to the parties, will provide an opinion 

that the security interest described is enforceable according to its terms. 

SK_0014 

11-7565_0004 
24

Sam Kazran 

clo James H. Post, Esquire 

October 2, 2008 

Page40f5 

In the event any portion of the real property herein, including without limitation the 22 acres, tax 

parcel no. 022105-0000, is conveyed to the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) in 

connection with the DOT Notice to Owner dated June 12, 2008, to 11-2001, LLC, Iacksonville 

Auto Mall, LLC, and Arom Askarifar, then Buchanan and 1099 will cause any security interest 

arising hereunder to be released as to the property .conveyed to DOT; provided, however, that 

any proceeds from such conveyance will be applied first to such purposes as required by Bank of 

America in connection with the workout or restrucruring of obligations to Bank of America, then 

to the Cap Loan Liability, and then to the Avenues Kia Note, before such proceeds are used for 

any other purpose. 

12. Further conditions to the disbursement of the Escrow Amount are as follows: 

(a) Kazran's execution of the Affidavit attached hereto as Exhibit A. 

(b) Kazran's provision to Buchanan and 1099 of written verification from 

Bank of America that, as a result of the parties executing these settlement 

terms, and provided that the Escrow Amount is disbursed in accordance 

herewith, Bank of America will allow Hyundai of North Jacksonville to 

continue its operations and will loan additional working capital for the 

operation of the dealership. 

13. The panies contemplate that formal agreements will be executed among them 

implementing these terms. Those agreements will include a release of all claims by Kazran and 

his affiliated interests against Buchanan and his affiliated interests by reason of any known or 

unknown set of facts arising before this date .xcept for the obligations assumed under this 

settlement. Likewise, assuming performance by Kazran, Buchanan and his affiliated interests 

will release Kazran and his affiliated interests from all claims other than those contemplated by 

this agreement. 

14. The parties agree (I) that lhe terms of this settlement will be kept strictly 

confidential except where its disclosure is necessary in order to secure approvals from persons 

whose consent is essential to accomplishment of the transactions described herein (2) not to 

disparage one another and to report to any public inquiry that "all. disput<;s hay. been 

satisfactorily resolved;" and (3) not to commence any new litigation against one another, except 

to enforce the terms of this settlement. 

Please indicate your agreement to these core terms by signing in the spaces provided 

below. 

Sincerely, 

sf Roger K. Gannam 

Roger K. Gannam 

SK_0015 

11-7565_0005 
25

Sam Kazran 

clo James H. Post, Esquire 

October 2, 2008 

Page 5 of5 

SAM KAZRAN 

Individually' and on behalf of Premier Avenues, 

Premier Atlantic, Premier Properties, Gwinnett., 

LLC, 11-2001, L.e. and all other bU1;inesses and 

entities controlled by him 

dlti? 1099 MANAGEMENT CO, L.L.c. 

By: John Tosch, President 

SK_0016 

11-7565_0006 
26

t .' i 

I 

I 

r 

r 

t 

ii 

L 

2, 

Affidavit of Sam Kazran afkla Sam Khazrwan 

I, Sam Kazran, under penalty ofpe~iury. state that to the best of my knowledge: 

J have been the person in charge of the operations of the automobile dealerships known 

as Premier Dodge ("Premier Dodge") which is owned by Gwinnett. LLe, a Florida 

limited liabil ity company and Hyundai of North Jacksonville ("Hyundai") owned by 

I J ~200 1 LLC, a Florida limited liability company, during all periods relevant to the 

matters set forth below. 

Vernon G. Buchanan ("Buchanan H), directly or indirectJy through 1099 Management Co. 

L.L.C., a Florida limited liability company, had an economic ownership in each 

dealership, although Buchanan's economic arrangements, and continuity of ownership, in 

each dealership changed over the years of my involvement . 

.J. Due in part to the economic circumstances that existed in the automobile industry, each 

of these dealerships ex.perienced a financial downturn, and certain amounts that I, or the 

respective dealership, owed Buchanan or entities controlled by him were delinquent in 

payment, and the relationship between Buchanan and me deteriorated because of such 

delinquencies, commencing primarily in early 2008. 

4. During the course of tense and somewhat hostile negotiations between my lawyers and 

me, and representatives ror Buchanan, I advised a representative of Buchanan that one or 

more of the dealerships of which 1 wa<; in operational control had reimbursed certain 

individuals who had contributed to the Buchanan for Cong~ess campaign. 

5. Before September, 2008 neither r, nor to my knowledge. any other person who had ever 

advised Buchanan or any of his representatives had any inform~tion that one or both of 

the dealerships referred to in 1 above reimbursed certain individuals for contributions 

made to the Vernon G. Buchanan for Congres~ campaign. 

6. Since my relationship with Buchanan first commenced,. I attended various meetings of 

other general managers or "partners" of Buchanan who were involved in other 

dealerships in which Buchanan. or companies controlled by him, had a direct or indirect 

ownership interest. At no time was there any statement or any form of encouragement to 

make a campaign contribution based upon a threat of job discrimination. financial 

reprisal, or other detriment for failure to make a contribution discussed, disseminated or 

suggested by Buchanan, a Buchan.an representative or anyone under his or their 

direction. Furthermore, there never was a discussion, statement or other action which 

would have: implied that a person who made a contribution to the Vernon G. Buchanan 

for Congress campaign would be reimbursed by someone or would receive; a special 

benefit. 

7. No one has advised rne that Buchanan or any representative of his knew of any intention. 

plan or arrangement by anyone to make a reimbursement, directly or indirec-tly. to a 

person in exchange for making a contribution to the Buchanan tor Congress campaign. 

EXHIBIT A 

SK_0017 

11-7565_0007 
27

8, I consent to Buchanan tiling this Affidavit with the Federal Election Commission and 

using information contained herein in connection with campaign for re-election matters. 

Sam Kazran 

STATEOF ______ _ 

COUNTY OF ______ _ 

The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this _ day of October. 2008, 

~;i~::i~:~-:~'. He is personally known to me or has produced _________ _ 

(SEAL) 

Notary Public·State of 

Commission Number: 

EXHIBIT A 

SK_0018 

11-7565_0008 
28

EXHIBIT 2 
29

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofH. Res. 895 as Amended 

TNRE: 

REVIEW NO 

DATE: 

LOCATION 

TIME 

PARTICIPANTS 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 

UNlTED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATlVES 

MEMORANDUM OF INTERVIEW 

Former Busi ness Panner 

11-7565 

December 6, 20 I I 

225 East Coastline Drive 

Jacksonville, FL 32202 

10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m (approximate) 

Omar S. Ashmawy 

Kedric L. Payne 

SUMMARY: The witness is a former business partner of Representative Vern Buchanan. The OCE 

requested an interview with the witness and he consented to an interview The witness made the 

following statements in response to our questioning: 

1. The witness was given an 18 USc. § 1001 warning and consented to an interview. The witness 

signed a written acknowledgement ofthe warning, which will be placed in the case file in this 

review. 

2. The witness is currently unemployed He told the OCE that he is in litigation with Bank of 

America that was commenced in 2008 by Representative Buchanan. 

3. The witness was a panner with Representative Buchanan in several business: Hyundai of North 

Jacksonville, Premier Dodge (legal name Gwinnett, LLC), Premier Kia on Atlantic (legal name: 

Premier Automotive Group, LLC) and Premier Kia at the Avenue (legal name: Premier 

Automotive Group, LLC). 

4. The witness was the managing director at these entities. He reported to Representative 

Buchanan. Representative Buchanan ran these dealerships and others through an entity called 

the "1099 Company" which owned everything. Representative Buchanan managed the 

dealerships through monthly financial repons. 

5. The first time campaign contributions in relation to Representative Buchanan came up was at 

meeting of his various business partners meeting where Representative Buchanan gave a speech 

and announced he was running for Congress. Right after the speech Representative Buchanan 

talked to everyone. Representative Buchanan told the witness that he was depending on the 

witness for contributions. It was the same conversation he had with all the partners in the room. 

6. The witness's first contribution to Representative Buchanan was $9200 from him and his wife. 

The contribution was not reimbursed. 

MOI- Page 1 of5 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
30

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofH. Res. 895 as Amended 

7. Close to the end of a calendar quarter, Representative Buchanan would become aggressive 

regarding contributions. Sometimes the witness would receive thirty or more calls in a week 

from Representative Buchanan. 

8. On one occasion, Representative Buchanan asked the witness to help raise $50,000 for his 

campaign. This was not too long after the witness had made the $9200 contribution. The 

witness could not raise additional money for contributions from others, so he wrote a $4,000 

check to Representati ve Buchanan's campaign. The check was returned by the campaign. This 

was the first time the witness learned about contribution limits 

9. At that time, the witness's contact at the campaign was a woman named Selena. A few months 

afterwards Representative Buchanan set up a more formal campaign staff 

10. Representative Buchanan talked to the witness and all of his other business partners about 

campaign contributions. The witness knew this because the partners would talk to one another 

and joke about it - asking each other how much Representative Buchanan "hit them up for" and 

then complain about it 

II. There was one partner meeting the witness recalled when Representative Buchanan was stressed. 

The quarter was ending and Representative Buchanan said that he needed $1 million by the end 

of the quarter. The witness recalled one partner asking Representative Buchanan "Hey boss, 

why don't you just use your money?" Representative Buchanan said that he could not because 

he needed to have lots of people contribute because otherwise "it didn't look good." 

12. The first time Representative Buchanan was explicit about reimbursing individuals for the 

campaign contributions was sometime in June 2006. It was part of a conversation about buying 

Representative Buchanan out of one of the dealerships. The witness was walking out of a 

partners' meeting with Representative Buchanan, Dennis Slater, John Tosh, and Josh Farid. 

13. Representative Buchanan told the witness that ifhe could get at least $25,000 to his campaign by 

the end of the quarter, Representative Buchanan would give the witness an additional two 

months to get money to Representative Buchanan to buy him out of Gwinnett, LLC. 

14. The witness told Representative Buchanan that he could not get $25,000 to his campaign. 

Representative Buchanan then asked "don't you have someone you can trust to run it through the 

company, like your brother or someone." 

15. Although this was the first time Representative Buchanan explicitly discussed reimbursements of 

campaign contributions with the witness, the witness was already clear that Representative 

Buchanan wanted him to do this. It first dawned on him when his check for $4,000 was returned 

and yet Representative Buchanan was still asking for contributions. 

16. At another partners' meeting in very late 2005 or early 2006, the witness overheard a 

conversation between Dennis Slater, David Long, and Representative Buchanan. They were 

talking about campaign contributions. Representative Buchanan asked David Long for a 

contribution and Mr Long said he could not make the contribution. The witness heard 

Representative Buchanan say "don't you know you're going to get it back" 

MOI- Page 2 of5 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
31

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofH. Res. 895 as Amended 

17. The witness listed the following people as individuals who were reimbursed for the campaign 

contributions: Stephanie Champ, Gayle Lephart, Dee Smith, Joe Cutaia, Eric Kazran, Josh Farid, 

and Vincent Sams. Each individual was an employee of the Hyundai of North Jacksonville 

dealership. The witness estimated that in total, they gave Representative Buchanan over 

$100,000 

18. The witness said that one occasion he had a meeting with the employees and told them that 

Representative Buchanan asked him to get and reimburse contributions from them. At the 

meeting one person said that he did not have the money to make the contribution and wait for a 

reimbursement, so the witness had to write a check to the person tirst. 

19. The witness also explained that on one occasion Representative Buchanan told the witness to 

use the dealership's corporate credit card and put approximately $18,000 on it, over the course of 

several transactions. The witness was told to call Selena and have her "run it for Vern PAC." 

20. On another occasion in Summer 2008, Honda of North Jacksonville was having financial trouble 

and cash flow was becoming tight. The witness asked Representative Buchanan and his 

representative, John Tosh, for money. They said no. When Josh Farid heard this, he got angry 

and called John Tosh. Me. Farid told Me. Tosh that they [the dealership] gave Representative 

Buchanan 

"all the money and we've been expecting it back." 

21. Within a few minutes of that phone call, the witness received an angry call trom Representative 

Buchanan who wanted to know what was going on. The witness apologized for Mr. Farid and 

Representative Buchanan said "what was it? A thousand? I'll have Tosh send it to you." 

22. The witness stated that Representative Buchanan started out "normal," but as time went on he 

"constantly talked about money." Representative Buchanan started out alluding to the idea of 

reimbursements, but the witness thought that as the election approached and Representative 

Buchanan became more concerned, he became "so stressed and needed the money" that he began 

to ask for it explicitly. 

23. The witness described Representative Buchanan as very vigilant about the financials ofthe 

dealerships. Representative Buchanan would frequently catch minute - in the $100'sdiscrepancies and losses. On one occasion Representative Buchanan noticed that $230 was 

missing from an account. 

24. The funds used to reimburse individuals for campaign contributions were listed as a Vern 

Buchanan Capital Contribution in the financial statements No one was asked to explain them 

and no one talked about it. 

25. The witness said that there have been a handful of times when he would put Ms. Lephart or Mr 

Farid on the phone to let them overhear a conversation or put a call on speaker so they could hear 

Representative Buchanan asking for campaign contributions. There was no instance when the 

witness allowed someone to overhear a phone call with Representative Buchanan when 

reimbursements were discussed. Anyone who said that is lying 

MOI- Page 3 of5 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
32

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofH. Res. 895 as Amended 

26. Ms Lephart was the comptroller for Honda of North Jacksonville and was therefore aware of all 

the money going out for the reimbursements. Mr. Farid also helped with the finances and he was 

therefore aware of money being used for reimbursements 

27. When asked about the affidavit Representative Buchanan asked him to sign, the witness 

explained that in June 2008 the company was getting low on cash. Bank of America audited the 

company and determined that Representative Buchanan removed $800,000 out of the company 

early on in its existence. 

28. Representative Buchanan was being distant with the witness and would not speak to the witness. 

As a result, the witness was speaking with John Tosh. It was around this time that Mr. Farid 

made the angry call to Mr. Tosh that resulted in a phone call from Representative Buchanan. As 

a result of this phone call from Representative Buchanan to the witness, the two men began 

speaking again 

29. Over the course of several conversations, the witness told Representative Buchanan "you're not 

in the car business anymore -let me buy you out." 

30. An agreement to buy Representative Buchanan out was proposed and eventually signed. The 

day it was signed, Representative Buchanan called the witness to congratulate him and invited 

him to Sarasota, FL to celebrate over dinner at a restaurant on Longboat Key. 

3 I. When the witness arrived, Representative Buchanan showed him the affidavit and asked the 

witness to sign it. The witness read it and was upset because it not only claimed Representative 

Buchanan did not know about the reimbursements, but made the witness the "fall b'llY" 

32. The witness then called his wife and his attorney from the restaurant. He refused to sign the 

affidavit, at which time Representative Buchanan got "very frustrated and got up and left" 

33. The following day, Representative Buchanan called the witness and left a voicemaiL He called 

again and left another voicemail a few days later. These are voicemails that were publically 

released. 

34. The witness went back and forth with Me Tosh to see if there was something they could agree 

on, but they could not. 

35. The last communication the witness had with Representative Buchanan was in 2008 or 2009 

regarding the lawsuit. The witness has spoken with Representative Buchanan's attorneys since 

then. 

36. Other dealerships were also reimbursing contributions. Those dealerships were: Sarasota Ford, 

Venice Nissan, Suncoast Ford, Melbourne Toyota and Melbourne Lexus. Shelby Curtsinger of 

Venice Nissan would complain a lot about the reimbursement to the witness. 

37. The witness did not recall a time when Me Farid was privy to a phone call in which 

Representative Buchanan mentioned reimbursements; however Mr. Farid "knew exactly what 

was going on" Me Farid was on at least two phone calls when Representative Buchanan was 

asking for campaign contributions. 

MOI- Page 4 of5 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
33

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofH. Res. 895 as Amended 

38. Just about every time Representative Buchanan asked for money, the witness had to talk to Mr 

Farid and Ms. Lephart about it. 

This memorandum was prepared on January 5,2012 after the interview was conducted on December 6, 

2011. I certify that this memorandum contains all pertinent matter discussed with the witness on 

December 6,2011. 

Omar S. Ashmawy 

Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

MOI- Page 5 of5 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
34

EXHIBIT 3 
35

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

CONFIDENTIAL 

INVESTIGATIVE DEPOSITION OF 

o ESQ1!IB~ 

SAMKAZRi\N 

November 6, 20{)9 

1(]:30 a.m. 

130 I Rivcrpluce Boulevard 

Suite 1609 

Jacksonville, Florida 

Sandra Crowley, RMR, 1'1'11. 

Certified Copy 

0 ~ 

." ." 

.... 1l\! ,." 

n "" C"lf'1 "" (")fTl 0 o;o;;':J 

°0 "'" ~l""~~ 

~." "" ;!:'0':1 (/J Gi (/'IfT'i-:7': 

-0 tt)r-~--

P~rq 

r-z ::''=j~~~ r"'1 "" :.r:~ '& ;<;J 

:I>- p- ~ r \l) 

Toil Free: 800.322._ 

Facsimile: 904.355.6152 

1609 Riverpl~ce Tower 

1301 Rlverp!ace Boulevard 

Jacksol'lvilie, Pl 3~2:07 

www.esqulre.solutlons.com 
36

.~----.-.--.----.------

FEDERAL ELECTrON COMMISSION 

CONFIDENTIAL 

INVESTIGATIVE DEPOSITION OF 

SAM KAZRAN 

November 6/ 2009 

10,30 . 2,07 p.m. 

1301 Riverplace Boulevard 

Suite 1609 

JacksonviJ.le, Florida 

sandra Crowley; R!'-3R, F'PR 

----I 

Toll Free: 800,322_ FacslmHe: 90.'1.355.6152 

1509 Riverpl<'ltc Tower 

1301 R!'1erp!;)ce 90u!e.v<ll·d 

Jacksonville, FL 32207 

www.esqu:resaitlt!o .. e;.com 

! 
37

4 

10 

11 

12 

Sam Kazran Nove-roller 6 I 2009 

CONFIDENTIl'.1 .. 

-----------.--.. - .. --. 

AP'!?EARANCES OF COtJNSl!-:r.l 

On behalf of the Federal Election Commission; 

,JACK A. GOULD, Esguir'<? 

IflAVg J. SOVONICK, Invest.igator 

999 E Street, N.W. 

Washington, DC 29463 

207.-694-_ 

INDEX OF WITNESSES 

WITNESS: Sam Kaz'!:'an 

Page 

1.3 EXA1HNATION 

14 

15 

16 

17 

By Mr. GQuld 

18 FEe's 

20 

21 

22 

23 

Exhibits 

INDEX TO EXHIBITS 

DBSCY'iptian Page 

Subpoena 4 

Fi ve ··page etgreement 54 

Affidavit 57 

(Exhibits 1-3 have been retained by counsel.) 

24 

2.5 

Toll frae~ 80.0.322._ 

Facsimile: 904.355.6152 

1509 Rlverp!<Jce Towef 

1301 Rlverplace Boulavard 

Jadl5Cn\i!!l~, Fl 32207 

wWIN.esqw!resoiut!ans,com 
38

Sam Kazran November 6 .. 20D9 

CONFIDEN1~IAL 

1 

.--~ 

CONFIDEN'1'IAL DEPOSITION OF' SJ.\M KAZRAN I November 6 1 2009 

MR. GOUJ..ID: Let! s go on the record. 

Today is Fr'iday, November 6. The time :i.S 

approximately 10; 30. This is the deposit.ion by 

the Feder.al Election Commissl.on of Sam Kazran. 

This is called an investigative deposition. 

will be asking you questions an~J a:.;::k. 

10 for youX' best recollection. If you cannot 

11 remember the exact words that \<lere in part of a 

12 convers;:l.t.ion, give us your best summary of the 

gist of the conversation. If I ask you for 

14 dates! if you don!t knoVJ the exact date, yc:m ca.n 

15 tell us the month. Do the best that you can. 

16 And again l if you need any breaks, let us know 

and we'll take a break. 

18 SAN KAZRAN. having been first duly sworn, 

19 was examined and testified as follows: 

20 EXAM1NATION 

21 BY J'l'lR. GOULD: 

22 Q. Pl.ease state your name for the record. 

23 Sam Kazran, K-a-z-r-a-n. 

24 Q. Mr. Kazrao, what is ycur business! yO\H' 

25 official business? 

ESQ~In3I~ 

To" Free: 800322.- FacSimile; gOti.355,6iS2 

1509 Rlverplace Tower 

1301 Rlverpi.au: Boulevard 

JacksonvJ!le, FL. 32207 

W\NW .eSquir~5Qiut!OfiS. com 
39

Sam Kazran NoveTIWer 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

1 A. I own autom~")bile dealerships. 

2 Q. For the record, provide us with the 

address of your -- the dealership where you maintain 

4 your office. 

A. It would be 9401 Atlantic Boulevard, 

Jacksonville, Florida 32218. 

7 Q. P~nd what is your telephone number? 

A. 904-874-_ Would you like the 

business number? I gave you direct cell number, 

10 Would you like --

11 Qo Yes, let I s have your busin.ess nurube;;:- as 

12 well. 

13 A. 

14 MR. GOULD: Please mark this as Exhibit 

15 ] . 

16 (FEe Exhibit 1 wa.s marked for 

17 identification, ) 

18 Q. Mr" Ka z ran, I I rfl going to hand you now a 

19 document that. has b?Jen marked for identification as 

20 Exhibit 1. The document is a subpoena issued by the 

21 Federal Election Commission that compels your 

22 attendance at this deposi.tion. 

23 Okay. Mr. Ka~ran, I can Bee that there 

24 is not an attorney tlere. Is that your choice not to 

25 be represented by counsel? 

Toll Free: 600.322_ 

facsimile: 904.3SS.61S1 

1609 Rh/erplace Tower 

1301 R1lJerp~ace Boulevard 

Jack"onv"HIe, FL 3220'7 

W'NW .esqulresolutlcns .{;Om 
40

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDEN1J:'IAT.J 

5 

A. Correct. 

Q, Mr. Kazran, when did you become 

acquainted with Vernon G. Buchanan? 

4 A. It was early 2004. 

Q, How did you become acquainted with 

Nr, Buchanan? 

A. met Mr. Buchanan to discuss a 

partnership on an automobile dealership that he owned 

in Jacksonville, Florida. I met him through a 

10 colleague of ours by the name of Kevin Br()dski r 

11 B-r-o-a-E-k-i. 

l2 

13 

Q. 

A. 

And who is Mr. Brodski? 

Mr. Kevin Brodski is a partner or former 

~L4 paz·tne:c ,~f M:r'. Vern Buchanan in another autor-nobile 

15 dealership. 

16 Q. And the name Df that dealE'Y.'ship is? 

A. It was Toyot.a and Lexus of f>.1elbourne. 

18 Q. That1s Melbourne j Florida? 

19 A. Melbourne, ~lorida, correct. 

20 Q. Okay. It is our understanding that you 

21 are the president of a company known as 11-2001 LLC, 

22 is that correct? 

23 A. Correct < 

24 i Q. Nhen did you acquire your ownership 

25! int,ere,st in 11-2001, LT..C? And for the record, is L...-. __ _ 

ESQ1!IB~ 

Toll free: 800.32'2_ 

FBCSlmlle: 904.355.61.52 

15D9 Rlv~r:oIZice Towe;-

1301 Riverpl6ce Bou!~vi::lrd 

.1i3ckSQnvm~, FL. 32207 

www asqulreso!ut!olls.com 
41

Sam Kazran November 6, 200.9 

CONFIDENTIAL 

that business known as Hyundai of North Jacksonville? 

2 Correct: yes, I started my partnership 

"d t h Mr. Vern Buchanan, believe it was either April 

4 or May of 2004. 

Q. F.nd did you acquire an ownership .l.nterest 

in 11'·2001/ LLC? 

A. CO:r':t'ect.. In May of -- April or l'v1ay of 

2004, I had had a minority share of the company. 

was the managing partner I and t-:1r> Buchanan had a 

10 controlling share of the company. 

11 Q. Do you recall what p/::~rcentagE': of the 

12 company 

13 A. Yes, I was a 49 percent partner, and 

14 Mr. Vern Buchanan was 51 percent. 

15 Q. And t.hat waG in · ... hat year? 

16 A. 2004 f I b(~lieve it was April or May of 

17 2004. 

18 Q. Okay. Did you. and Mr. Buchanan have 

19 subsequent business dea1.ings? 

20 A. Yes Yes! we had two mOl.-e autr")n!obile 

21 actually three more automobile dealerships. 

22 partnerships. One was called Gwinnett, LLC, d/b/a 

23 Premier Dodge, located in Duluth, Georgia, outside of 

24 the Atlanta area. l-illd we had two other dealerships 

25 in Jacksonville, FloI'ida f Kia 

----....... _ ...... _-_ ... _ .. _ .. _ .. __ .. _ ... _ .. -._ ... -

ESQ~lIB~ 

Premier Automotive 

To!! Free: 300,322_ 

Facsimile: fi04 .. '35$,61S2 

1609 R!verp!;)ce Tower 

1.301 Rlvet"place Bou!ev<l,d 

Jackso!"lvUie, Fl 32207 

www.esqviresoiutiOrls.com 
42

Sam Kazran November: 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAl, 

7 

Group, d/b/a Kia on Atlantic, and a sister store, Kia 

2 at. The Avenues. 

Q. Going to the Gwinnett companYI when did 

you did you acquire an i.nterest in that companY·l1 

A, Correct 0 

Q, And Mr. Buchanan also had a financial 

interest i.n that company? 

A. Correct. Mr. Buchanan and I both were 

partners. I had 49 percent controlling share, and he 

10 had 51 percent controlling share in G1.-linnett I LLC. 

11 believe the time waS December of 105, January of 106 

l2 time period. WIth respect to the two Kia 

lJ dealerships, that was formed in December of '07 and 

14 the partnership structure I was 75 percent partners 

15 and he was :2 5 percent. 

16 Q. Okay~ The Feder:al Election Commission 

17 records show that you contributed $4,200 to Vern 

18 Buchanan!s ca«~aign for Congress in OZ' about July ot 

19 2005. Do you recall making that contribution? 

20 A. Correct. 

2:1. Q. Who asked you to make this campaign 

22 

24 

25 

ccmtribui::i.on? ! 

A. 

Q. 

meeting or 

ML Vern Buchanan. j And tell me what you recall. Was there a 

conversation in wh~~=~sked yo~ _______ _ 

To!! Fret!: 800.322._ 

Facsimile: 904.355.6-152 

1609 Rhlf!rp!ace Towf!r 

1301 RI'I~~rp!ace Boulevard 

Jacksonville, FL 32207 

www.esqul:@s.o!\Jt~on5.com 
43

Sam Kazrar:. November (1 I ~W09 

CONFIDENTIAL 

Q. Tell me what you 

j.\ < Mr. Buchanan and I had a discussion. He 

had informed us t.hat he would be running for 

Congress, that he would like our help In ra.ising 

money for them. He had asked me to give him a check, 

I believe the amount is $4,600. It might have been 

two ot them, one from me and one from my wife, 

can j t qu.i te remember I a.nd whi ch I did. I wrott:: him a 

10 personal check and that was the end of ito 

11 you know ~ he had a sked me and I gavf-.:: 

12 him the check, And throughout t~ime after I 

13 personally contributed to him, numerous times 

I t1 r-1r. Buchanan approached me again and asked for me to 

15 raise money for him and contribute to his campaign l 

16 but he toJ.d me that I cOlll.d no .longer write a c:heck 

17 myselfo 

18 Qo Okay. Did he say why you co"uld not wr'Lte 

J r.:: a check you:r-self? 

20 Ao This waG later. I believe the first time 

21 that r contributed he used to tell us itls the end of 

22 the quaI·ter j we need t.o have money_ So it would be 

23 the third and fourth and fifth round of every time 

214 th'-:tt he was ra.Ising money, yes, 

Qo LetTs go back to the first time. Was 

Toll free: 000,322_ 

Facsimile: 904.355.6152 

1609· Rlverp!<lce Tower 

:1301 Rlverplace Boulevard 

JaCK~:H'I\lIHe; FL 322Q7 

www.esq<lire:;"lutions.r.om 
44

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONE'IDENTIA \., 

.......•. -~ ... --.-~-----

this in a meeting that he asked you to make this 

cont.ribut.ion? 

A. Both in a meetit19 and also in private, 

yes. 

5 Q. In the. me~tiIlg, where did that meeting 

take place? 

A. We used to conduct a mont.hly partr;.ers 

meeting in Sarasota, Florida. All partners would 

meet once a month to diseuse progr'ess of our 

10 busineSges. 

Q. Who was present at this particular 

12 meeting where Mr. Buchanan asked for the campaign 

13 contribution? 

A. We had several partners that attended 

15 there on a regular basis. Kevin Brodski would be 

16 one. I 1 m going to do my best to remember everyone" 

17 Mr. Dennis Slater was another, Steve Silverio waS 

18 another, Jeff King was aIlother, Scott Tomasso is 

19 another, ~Tim Gx-uisko was another, and several other 

20 folks. have to write down and remember all of 

2l them, but r~ll certainly do that. 

22 Q. I can give you a note pad, 

23 A. Yeo; -! f you would. J! m £lorry. 

24 remember four more. Mr . ..John 'Tosch, Mr. Mark 

25 Ornstein was the company 1 s attorney. Josh Farid, 

Toll Free: 8:JC.321_ 

Facslmi!~: 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverpi.;;.ce T(;wer 

1301 Rlvetp!ace Boulev?td 

Jacksorwmel FL 32207 

www.esqu!reso!u Uor;s .~:om 
45

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CCNE'IDENTIAI. 

10 

which. was a partner of mine, David Long. Scot.t 

Tomasso, Tom Moore. Shelby -- I can't remember the 

last name, Shelbyls last name. 

4 MR. SOVDNICK: Is it possible itls 

Curtsinger? 

THE WITNESS: Correct. " 

MR. SOVDNICK: c-u-r-t-s-i-n-g-e··r. 

THE WITNESS: YeS. We had had there's 

9 probabl y another handful 0:[ names that can't 

10 remember now, but as we1re talking IIl1 jot t.hem 

11 down and share tha.t with you. 

12 Q. Ok.ay. As I previously stated l the FEe 

13 records indicate that this contribution, $4,200 

14 contribution, was received by the campaign committee 

15 in July of 2005. Is that the approximate time that 

16 this meeting occurTEO\d? 

17 Correct. Mr. Buchanan held several 

18 meetings, and we discussed business, but. as time went 

19 along, his intensity, if you will, with raising funds 

20 grows. so those di.scussions has taken place on 

21 numerous occasions. 

22 Q. 

23 A. 

Where did t.hls meeting take place? 

Sarasota in the corporate office for 

24 Buchanan Enterprises. Sarasot.a, [,'lorida. And the 

25 ones that him and I had in private wou1.d be in a 

---.------------_ ... _---------

Toll Free; 600.322_ 

Faes!mile: 9{)~.355.6152 

1609 Rlverplace Tower 

13tH ~iverplace Bculevard 

jacksonville, fL 32.207 

..... ww.~squiresoiutlons.cOrf' 

FEC00202 
46

Sam Kazran November 6, 20Q9 

CONFIDENTIAL 

11 

restaurant around that area. 

2 Q. Let's go back to the particular meeting 

when Nr. Buchanan first asked you to make the 

4 campaign contrihution t.o his campaign commtttee, Vern 

5 Buchanan for Congress. 

A. Yes. 

7 Q. Tell me what you can recall regard.i.ng his 

request for the contr.:l.bution4 

9 A. Mr. BU.chanan, he told me that he I s going 

10 to be rurilling for Congre8s~ that he was very excited. 

11 And he said, rIm going to be running for Congress, 

12 and my next position would be the governor. I need 

13 you to help me. I need to gather as much money as 

14 possible. I'm going to put your name on $50,000 that 

15 you1ve got to raise by the end of the quarter --

16 can't rEmember what. month that was. 

17 And he says. I need you t.o wr:i te me a 

18 check for -- he first asked me, he says, You and your 

19 wife both 'On the checking account? 

20 sure. My wife writes all the checks. He says, Okay. 

21 well, itls 9 , ODO-something and change, And I did 

22 that. for him, no problem. And that waf; the end of 

23 it, but 

24 Q. I,et me stop you there. Did you write a 

25 check during that meeting when he asked for the 

Toll Free: 800.322_ 

Facshnlle; 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverplace Tower 

1301 RI\lerplace Soulevard 

JacksorlVllie, FL 32207 

www.esqulf.esolutlans.com 

FEC00203 
47

Sam Kazrall November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

1 

Q. To his office in Sarasota? 

A. Correct, yes. what Mr. Buchanan did with 

respect to payffients~ he would talk to us and someone 

7 else would follow up in the event that the payments, 

you know .- they would expect it to be there the very 

next day. 

10 Q. Okay. Let's go through t.he list of names 

11 that were at this meeting where Mr. Buchanan asked 

12 you to make contribution, 

13 

14 

IS 

A. 

Q. 

A. 

Okay. 

Okay. The first person'; 

Mr. John 'rosch, who is Mr. Vern 

16 Buchanan's right-hand man, Mr. Mark Ornstein, LJosh 

17 F'arid, David Long. Tom Moore, Shelby Curtsinger, 

lB Scott Tomasso, Dennis Slat.er, Kevin Brodskit Steve 

19 Silverio, Jeff King, Josh Farid, 

20 I would like to share with you -. - as 

21 mentioned before, the level of intensity, if you 

22 w:Lll i of campai.gn contributions intensified as time 

23 went on. We got to a point where the partners were 

24li 

25 

just joking around( we would walk in a meeting and 

partners would talk abouts Well, how much did he hit 

--- --------~-

loU Free: BOO.322_ 

FlScslmlle: 904.355.6152 

ESQ1HB!;; 1609 Rlve;rplace To .... -er 

1301 Rlverp!a(e BoLile~'ard 

lacksor1\'U!e, Fl 322.07 

www.esQuirescllJtlons.com 

FEC00204 
48

Sam Kazr.an November 6 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

r- you for? I'm not going to ~ake any ",oney this month 

I so I won't be able to provi.de any money. DId anybody 

did Vern say to anybody I~m going to -- are you 

4 going t.o get. the money back? Do you know who's going 

to be paying this money b~ICk, et cetera? 

The first round, I wrote the check to him 

7 because he had asked me. I did not n:d1l1nuT."se myself 

for t.hat money < He asked me to do it and I did. But 

later he aBked me to raise moneYI and when I told him 

10 that I can't do that anymore~ thatls when he told ITl8 

11 in fact, I remember we were at a corporate off ice t 

12 my partner. and I. This is right about the time that 

13 we were discussing the partnership far Dodge. 

14 I had asked him - - he wanted - - I'd asked 

15 him to consider taking less for our partnership's 

16 buyout. And he said, Okay, I'm going to do this, but 

17 I need you to raise u_ I can't remember if it was 25 

1B or 50,000. And he says, By Friday I want you to 

19 raise that. 

20 And when 1 indicated to him that I don! t 

21 have that money, he said, t4ell, don I t you have 

22 somebody at the del':lership you can trust? Just run 

23 it through the corporation. And Josh Earid was 

24 present with me. He was right behind me when he said 

25 ohat. 

Toll free: 800.322_ 

Facsimile: 904.355,6152 

1609 R1verpiare Tower 

1301 m .... r;rplac:e Boulevard 

Jacksonville, FL 32207 

www"esqu[,~!>Olut!ons"com 

FEC00205 
49

Sam Kazra.n Novel'r.ber 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 1----------------.--------

I So we went t.o the dealership. 

14 

I asked 

2 several key employees that I had trusted, had been 

with us ror a long time, to write the check. They 

all told me that they don't have money, but I said, 

Go ahead and reimburse yourself. 

So that 1:3 what we did. They wrote a 

personal check, but at the same ti.me -- in fact, 

before they ~- the personal check went outl we is~ued 

a check from the company to them. We were not in a 

10 position to write $9,000 checks and th(~n get 

11 reimbu:r:sed lateI', se we had to get the money up12 front. 

13 Q. What was your understanding when 

14: Mr. Buchanan told you: Run it through the company? 

15 What. did you unde:csta,nd he would be tell ing you? 

16 A. My understanding was that he said to have 

17 someone write the check personally an.d then give them 

18 back the money through the corporation. 

19 Q. To your knowledge, did Mr. Buchanan tell 

2D any of the other partners they should do the same? 

21 A. Yes, 11m very confident that: MY.'. Buchanan 

22 had individual talks with everyone just like he did 

23 with me. One of the things ttlat -- a couple of 

24 discussions that overheard, and one particular 

25 meeting I remember I was with Mr. Dennis Slater who 

Tot! Free: 800.322._ Facs~mil~: 904.355.6152 

1509 RlverplacE To ..... er 

1.301 Riverp!ace Bou!evard 

J~ck$onville, Fl. 31207 

www.esquiresQJL:tlon:;.oom 

FEC00206 
50

Sam Ka.zran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

r-;;ooo~." COO. ,," "0: c ...0, '0 ., .~ "' 2 f ~;liLid, Dennis, I haven't gotten your check yet. And 

he mentioned something like, BOss, I was hoping to 

4 take a pass or some't:hing within that nature that no, 

he had not 0 .?nd Vern said r Don 1 t worr.y. You know 

you1re going to get it back. And he kind of t:apped 

7 him on t.he shoulder and walked away. 

And Dennis smiled and he said, You know, 

this is just getting t.oo much. He'El always pounding 

10 us, and he doesn't care, we just need to get that. 

11 money_ 

12 I also had several other discussions 

13 prior to the meE!ting starting, just :having a cup of 

14 coffee. Everyone would talk about, you know. the 

15 intenSity. and how much money Vern needs to collect 

16 from them." So Mr. Buchana.n spoke more freely, if you 

17 will, with the partne:rs, and then that trickled down 

18 to the dealership_ 

19 Typically what would normally happen is 

20 i partners like me - - was one of the partners that 

22 operations, but t.he rest: of them _.- I would have 

23 general managers or partners who would go to their 

2l Uiid better than the rest with respect. to our 

24 lower le'vel managers and ask them to write a check 

25 for $500 or a thousand dollars, and then they1d just 

Toll Free: 800.322'- FaGlmlle: 904.3~S5.6152 

1609 R!verplace To.ver 1301 Riverplace aouh~' .... ;:,wd 

J.:lQ(sonvllfe, Flo 32207 www.esqlllres:'JlutIO(1$.~m 

FECOO207 
51

Sam Kazran November Q r 2009 

CONFIDENTIAl, 

16 

r.eimburse them with cash. That was happening a lot. 

Mr. Buchanan directly was mostly involved 

with partners. And the general managers and lower 

4: level managers were contacted for much smaller 

portions} with salespeople, financial managers, et 

cetera. 

7 Q. Do you recall ' .... ho it was t.hat told you 

8 that they wer.e reimbu:r·sing employees with cash? 

A. I canlt remember which one of t.he 

10 pa.rtners. I believe it was David Long at the Ford 

11 store in Sarasota. I had - - a part of my expertise 

12 was finance department. And quite often I used t.o go 

13 to other dealerships to train their finance 

14 personnel. And I'm also a unique operator, i.f you 

l5 will. was a partner but I was also very, very 

16 involved as a hands-on partner. 

17 And mast. other partners were not i3 S 

18 active as I am, So for that reaEoD, I was very much 

19 involved with everyone from lower level up. A.nd 

20 discussions like that took place all the t.ime. 

21 remember:r. was at d. Ford de.aleI:ship Once. and the 

22 finance manager ' .... as talking to another manager, and 

23 he eai.d , ! got: hit: by a t.houaand b\lCks, and I ~m not 

24 giving him the money l!m not going to give him a 

25 check until they pay me up-front, because TIm not 

ESQY.IBJ~ 

loll Free: aOO.322_ 

Facsimile: 904.355.6152. 

1609 RIVerp!m::e TOWEl" 

1301 Rlverpla'lc-l! Bou!evard 

Jacksonville, FL 32207 

www.esqu{i"esolutlons,ct."lfn 

FEC0020B 
52

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

17 

going to wait for it. 

This was probably - - I don't. knoW" if thi s 

was the first., the second election time at the Ford 

store. With respect to other partners. we had 

regular talks. I mean, in the partners meet.ings 

behind closed doors we spoke pretty freely about 

Mr. Buchanan's campaign contributions. 

Mr. Buchanan would -- initially he asked 

for money. and I think. if we go back to rr~cClJ:"ds and 

10 show, as we g-ot closer to the campaign, he became 

pretty aggressive and was just -- in my case, l!m not. 

12 sure wit.h the rest of t,ne partners, but right before 

13 the end of 3. quarter or the close time, you would see 

14 phone call after phone call after phone call after 

15 phone call to me. 

l6 And Mr. Buchanan, hess not like that, 

17 h€~' 8 very reserved if YDU will. He does nat he 

18 does not have interactions with partners on a daily 

19 basis. But for the campaign cont:cibution, he was 

20 just calling phones would "ring off the hook, And 

21 l!m sure -- don I t know when your quart.er ends, 

22 t.hat is ... 

23 In one incidfmt, one. of the partners had 

24 asked him, he says, Vern, you got a lot of money. 

25 Why dons t yeu put. the money in ycurself? Ana he 

ESQ12I.B~ 

Tori Free; 600.322'- facsiml!.e: 9Q4.355.(.152 

1809 Riverpl'H".e Tower 

13iH Rlverp!ace Boure'>'an:f 

JackSOfl ... IJle:, FL 32207 

'illWw.esqufreso!utlons.com 

FEC00209 
53

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

18 

said, We] 1, you know, I can j t do that. If I put the 

money out Qf me directly that Tim putting my own 

money in there, it doesn1t look as st:cong as if the 

money was raised.. And he always tal.ked about how he 

needed t.G raise 3 million~ then it went to 4 mLllion, 

then it went t.O $5 million when the campaign got 

7 closer. to the actual election date. 

Q. Let's go back to the list of partners. 

9 Why den!t you. tell us what company they were 

10 associated with and whet.her Vern Buchan.;m also had a 

11 financial interest. 

12 A. Yes, Mr.. Buchanan was invalyed in evex'Y 

1.3 dealership that the partners had come in. And he had 

1.4 a -- r don!t know for certain, b1..l,t the vast majority; 

15 in. fact., I'm pretty confider~t that 99 pf~rC(;!nt of 

16 those he had controlling share in all the companies. 

1'7 The only incident that I know that: was 

18 not the case was the most recent partneL"ship that him 

19 and I had in the Kia dealershipEl, SO I! 11 go ahead 

20 and share w),th you who they are. 

21 David Long was at Sarasota Ford. Torn 

22 Moore was initially at Ocala Honda and later into a 

.23 Ford and Chevy dealership. Ford store in Tampa area 

24 and Chevy store also in the Tampa area. Shelby was a 

25 partner at Venice Dodge and Niasall. Scott Tomasso 

Toll Free; 800.322_ 

Facs!mlle: 904.355.5152 

1609 Ri\le.rplace Tower 

1301 Rlverpli!lce Bou!eYard 

Ja.-:ksonvlne, R. 32207 

www.esqu3resolutlons..com 

FEC00210 
54

Sam Kazran Noveml::·er 6 J :2 0 0 9 

CONFIDENTIAL 

19 

was a partner at the Honda store t I think Space Coa.st 

it was called. Kevin Brodski was partners -- Kevin 

was also one of the senior partners, had involvement 

4 in multiple dealerships, Toyota and LexuEl in 

Melbourne, the Chevy store in Tampa -- the name has 

changed a couple times - - a 'I'oyoi:a stor'e in North 

Ca:colina, and I bel leve there was another - - oh, and 

Kevin Brodski was also partners with Scott Tom,n,s.9o. 

St,eve Silverio was a partner at the Chevy 

10 Eltore in Tampa. Jeff K.l.ng was a partner at the 

11 Toyota at.Dre in ,JacK.sonville, Florida. Dennis Slater:' 

12 was chief operating officer of the company. He used 

13 to t:ravel t:o all the dealerships to help out wi.th the 

14 business f pre formas , et cetera, 

15 Q. You said Mr:. Slater was a C. , . 

16 A. COO, chief operating officer, 

17 Q. What company are you referring to? 

18 A. Mr. Buchanan1s. The company's name is 

19 1099 Management Company. 

20 Q. And you said it. was l'-lr. Buchanan 1 s 

21 company. Do you know what percentage of the company 

22 he owns? 

23 A .• r believe he owns 100 percent of 1099 

24 Ma.nagement Company_ I'm not sure exactly how the 

25 structure is. do know that Mr. Buchanan is 100 

-----_._-----------------------_._-----' 

ESQV.'!J3J;~ 

Tol! Free: 600.322._ 

Facs!mHe; 904.355.61S2 

:\.509 R!verp!<lce Tower 

1301 mverp!ace Boulevard 

JacKsonvlt!e, FL 32207 

www.esqu!l.esofutlons.com 

FEC00211 
55

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

IB 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

Sam Kaz:ntn November 6, 2009 

l 

CONFIDENTIAL 

percent. decision--maker of t:~at, bll~ normally aft~l the deals are done,. then he put.s up 1099 r~janagement 

Company. That was the management company that all 

the dealerships were re'porting to and were paying ! 

their fees t:(J. 

Q. You say paying fees. What do you mean by 

that? 

P.. Mr. Buchanan had various fees on each 

dealership" Fer every car that was sold, t,he 

corporate office collected money. The offshore 

accounts thaI: collected money for extended 

warranties, et cetera I they had set up account.s, I 

guess tor tax purposes. They called it a Vern's Pi'-.C. 

The partners joked around r it was for his jet, for 

his oftice staff, et cetera. 

Anything that r·lr. Buchanan did, he pushed 

it down to the dealerships and raised the cost on it. 

Q. Okay. The Federal Election Commissi,on 

records lim sorry, were you done wi_th the list of 

partne:n3? 

A" Correct; yes. TheI'e may be a couple 

more, but I'm jotting them down as I go forward, but 

for the most part I gave you all that~ I remember 

right. now. 

Q. The Federal Election Commission reco:t:da 

------------------------------

rot! Free: 800.322_ 

Fac':;.-trntle, 9:04.3556152 

ESQII.!.B~ 1609 Rlverp!ace Tower 

1301 Rlvcrptace 8clJ~evard 

JacksonvillE:, FL 32207 

...... ~.~.w~~~~.~,I.!:~olul:i{H8s __ com 

FEC00212 
56

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDEJ-."TIAL 

.. -.--.-----.-~! 

21 

shaw that on or about November 2005 some of the 

employees at the North Jacksonville Hyundai made 

contributions to Mr. Buchanan's campaign for 

4: Congress. 'The reco:r·ds show that Gail Lephart, Ernest 

5 Lephart, Gary Smith and Diana Smith contributed a 

total of $16 1 800 to Mr. Buchanan's campaign for 

Congress. 

Did you ask any or: t_hese individuals to 

make a contribution to Mr. Buchananis campaign? 

10 j.'L Yes, I did. 

Q. Why did do you that? 

12 A. I instructed t.hem to write is.. check and 

13 reimburse themselves for because Mr. Buchanan had 

14 asked me to get money. And he apecitically told me 

lS get SomElOne you trust and run it through t.he 

16 corpora!: ion. 

Q. Okay. And did you get someone that you 

18 trusted? 

19 A. Yes, Ms. Gail Lephart and D. Smith, hels 

20 no longer with us, they were t.he office managers. 

:21 Mo;. Gail Lephart was our comptroller that I had known 

:22 and had a good relatiDnship with. And sh~ was going 

23 to cut the check. She's the person that cuts the 

24 check. 

2.5 And the first time that -- and I think 

To11 Free: 800.312_ 

F.acshnlle: 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverpface Tcwer 

1301 Rfvel"plaoe Boulevard 

Jacksonvifle. FL 32207 

www.esqwlre5o!utbns.ccm 

FEC00213 
57

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

22 

shels contributed on multiple times, but the first 

t.ime that I did, I told her tha.t we 'd be gett:ing this 

money back f,("om lvlr. Buchanan. I said, I dcn1t. know 

when, he just asked me to do it. 

5 But on the second ttme r in fact, she was 

at the office when I was talking to Mr. Buchanan. 

And at the t:Lme in 2007, I t.hink, or 2008 was the 

second one, the company was not doing very good, so 

-- and she was not very happy about UH writing those 

10 large amount of checks. 

D. Smith another' person that 

12 contributed was Josh Farid. lid asked my brot.her, 

~'".1 Eric Kazran F to do so. He wanted ' .. - Mr. Buchanan 

14 want:ed to get, I think it's nine thousand two or nine 

15 thousand four hundred dollars, and he was always 

16 wanting to make sure the personal checking account 

17 has hll.Bband and the wife on it to do both. 

18 Who else was it? 0h, Joe Cutaia was 

19 general manager of the store. He also wrote a 

20 personal check and was reimbuTsed aft;:L'wa:rds. And a 

21 couple cf times just sBveI·al days before -- he always 

22 llsed to call at the end of reporting tim~::. He had 

23 called and asked me how much money I have gotten fox: 

24 him. And I told him 11m not sure if it was 25- or 

25 30,000. And what he Baid, he said, I need more. 

Toil Free: 800,322_ far::slmlk:!: 904.355.6152 

1609 R!verpl2ce TOI.';er 

1301 Rjv€rpl~ce Boulevard 

Jacksonvllte, FL 32207 

www.esqulre;olfjticrl~.com 

FEC00214 
58

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

23 

1. want you to cha,-;.ge $1.0 1 000 em the credi t card that 

2 you have and call it VernIs PAC, I'm not sur:e what 

that meant, but that_Is what I did. I charged $10,000 

on the company credit card, and I clas8.i.fied it as 

5 VernIs PAC. 

7 

Q. And do you recall what year that was'? 

A. You know, I think it was r 1m not sure 

if 1 t was 105 or 106. It might have been [ 07. I had 

numE~:r.()us disCU9£!,lOn:;! with Mr. Buchanan with resp'ecl 

10 to campaign contributions I so forgive me. r have to 

11 give you blocks. 

12 Q. I'll help you with information from the 

13 B'EC database for campaign contr ibut :t.ons . The FEe 

14 raco:rds indicate that. you contributed $4,600 to what 

15 you1ve called Vern PAC an or.' about September :2! 2007. 

16 Is tb.is the contribution that you. were just telling 

"17 us about·.." 

18 A. Yes. remember: wi th the c redi t card 

19 held asked me to do $10,000. Itts pOBsibJ.e that we 

20 used another credit card. don't know where Vern 

21 PAC goes. had thought that money was going to hb; 

22 management company, because it's called VernIs PAC. 

23 It!s possible that the $4,600 might have changed. 

24 'rhey have SEnt checks hack in the past 

25 because it was for the wrong amount, and they sa.id 

Tolt ~·ree: 80{),322_ 

Felcslmlle; 904.355.6i52 

1609 ~i\ferp[ace Tower 

1301 R!vErplace Boulevard 

JaC~50nVme, FL 32207 

'oNww.esqulresoitltlons,c;om 

FEC00215 
59

Sam Kazran November 6 1 2009 

CONFIDENT TAT, 

--------------------------

24 

this check needs to be redone and send it for a 

different amount. 

Q. When you say "they sent it back,!! who are 

4 you referring to? 

5 A_ The tolks t.hat work with Mr, Vern 

Buchanan. I remember one inc:i.dent was a check sent 

7 out for 9,000 and change. They sent it back and 

said I Thatfs not correct, therefs only one person on 

that. You need to change it to 4,000 and whateve:r.. 

10 Q- t-Jhen you, say the people t:hat work for 

11 Mr. Buchanan/ are you speaking of the people that 

12 worked at 1099 Management Company? 

13 A. Yes, there was a -- I canft remember her 

14 n.ame. It was not Mr. Buchanan's assistant l it was 

15 another lady t.hat helps specifically with the 

16 campaigns. An.d 80 what Mr. Buchanan would dOl he 

17 would 11m going to use me as an example. 

18 He would talk ..... ·Jth me, tell me how much 

19 money I needed to send and by when. And then that 

20 lady 'fJlould caLL and follow up to make sure that the 

2:1 check came out. And if the check was an hour late, 

22 th.ey would call and apply seriol.1s pressure on sending 

23 that money. 

24 Q- Now, just so I'm clear on this, the woman 

25 who would call you, was she an employee of the 1099 

Toll Free: 800.322_ 

Facs[m[!e: 904.355.615l 

1609 Rlverpiate Tower 

DOi Rlv~rpla~ Boulevard 

Jacksonvill€, fL 32207 

www.e5qul~5clutl(jns.com 

FEC00216 
60

Sam Kazran Novernber 5, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

--------~~-~~-1 

25 

Management Company or was she a staff person lor the 

2 campaign? 

4 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

Ei 

16 

17 

A. r : In not sure. I don I t know how 

Mr. Buchanan did his deal with them. donlt know --

I do know t.hat she necame - she came in th.e picture 

after the campaign stuff started, so my guess would 

be she \IIt'or-ked for the campaign part. 

Q. okay. I do not want you ma.king any 

guesses. 

A. Yes. 

Q. If you!re not sure, you can say so. 

A~ Okay. 

Q. Do you recall her name? 

A. do not, I apologize, I don. I t know what 

her name is. 

Q. If it. comes to you --

A. she was a. spokesperson, ): think. I read 

18 in an article somewhere that she introduced herself 

19 as a spokesperson> But if r recall the name, IHh:Lch 

20 ;'<l very possible, I'll give you that name ~ 

21 Q. The campaign contribution checks that you 

22 i wrote, they were sent -- do you recall the address 

:2 3 i that they were sent to"? 

:: ~ ""' '::~y '::: :::: :::",~: ::::,::"::::~ -j 

To!1 Free: 800.322._ Facs!miiE'! 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverillacc Tower 

1301 ruv~rpjace Boulevard 

lackson .... We, FL 32207 

www.esqulre501I.ltlons.ooi.T1 

FEC00217 
61

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

26 

of the exact one, but the initial address was 707 

something. I can't remember t.hat:. They relocated 

since, so tlilit address is not.. But I know that 

4 it I S been ):lent to Sarasota, I also know that it has 

5 been sent to another address where they had -- it's 

possible it was Washington, but Ilm not sure. But I 

do know I have sent to two separa.te addresses. 

Q. Do 1'011 know whether or not the address in 

9 Sarasota is the Ford dealership in Sarasota? 

10 A. Correct, yes. The Ford dealership is 

11 whexe!lir. Buchanan ueed t.o 6 t.ay before they moved. 

12 don't. know how their mail got there, but I do know 

13 that Vern had an office upstairs in the Ford 

1.4 dealership. That.ls how I met him for t,he first time. 

15 Q. And you said they moved lat.er on. Do yon 

16 know where they moved to? 

17 A. They moved also in Sarasota, somewhere 

18 downtown in a separate building. 

19 MR. GOULD: Mr. sovonick has some 

20 questions. 

2.1. BY MR. SOVONICK: 

22 Q. Mr. Kazran, first off, do you know a 

23 person named Vincent Sams? 

24, A. Yes. 

25 Q. v-lho is that? 

To!: frep.: 600.322._ f~cs!mll~~ 904.355'.6152 

1609 Rlv<::!rplaCl;: Tower 

130 1 Rlver~1!ace Boulevard 

Jacksorr>tUk, Fl 3:1;20l 

www.esQulresolutlons.com 

FEC00216 
62

Sam Kazran November 6, 20091 

CONFIDIT.NTIAL 

1 A, Vincent Sam is a former partner of mine 

that. I worked with, and he might be another one of 

the foJ.k5 that I dealt with when I was asked to help 

with the ca.mpaign. Vincent Sam \oJas -- I met Vincent 

5 Sam several years a.go. We worked together, and we 

purchased a dealership together in Waycross! Georgia. 

7 Q. Okay. According to FEe records, Vincent 

8 Sams contributed $4,200 to Vern Buchanan's campaign 

9 on January 21 2006. 

10 A, Yes. 

11 Q, 'i~as he a person that was also reimbursed 

12 for his contribution? 

13 A, Cor:n;!ct, yes. 

14 Q. Was he reimbursed through f-Llnds from 

15 A, The company, yea. 

16 Q. - - from your company? [·'r.om Hyundai of 

17 No:rTh .Jacksonville? 

18 ,,-, Correct. None of the people that 

19 contributed to Mr. Euchanan, with the exception of 

20 mel which he asked me for the first time 1 he said 

21 Wri te t.he check, they were all re:Lmbursed the same 

22 day_ Actl..lally~ they got _.- the money was deposited 

23 into their personal account so that the checks could 

i 24 cash: because none of these folks -- these are 

25 ordinary folks that make 2-, $3, 000 a mont.~_~_._ ... __ They _.~._~ __ ~ __ J 

ToH Frl'!e: 800.312.-

Facsiml!Q: 904.355.5152 

1609 Rlverptece Tower 

1301 Rlverpface Boulevard 

Ji3cksorW!IIe, fL 372n7 

v'o.'Wlt'II .eS-qu!r"":.'!1>l.."llutlons, com 

FEC00219 
63

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

28 

would not be in a position to write that. 

Q. With regard to Vincent sams 4 did you ask 

him to do that? 

4 A. Correct. 

Q. And did you tel) him that he would be 

reimbursed? 

7 A. Correct. Yes, Vincent Sam, because he 

was a partner, I spoke freely with him and he Tf'JaS 

aware. 

10 Q. Do you know who Patricia Barns is? 

11 A. Patricia Sams is Vincent SamBI wife. 

12 Q. Do you knew 1. E she also made 

13 contributions? 

14 A. You knew, I think the check that Vincent 

15 wrote had both of them. That \>Jas one of the things 

16 that I was told you got to make sure there's two 

17 people on the check to get the most amount 

18 Q. So did you discuss with him that his ",life 

19 should contribute as well and be rei.mbursed? 

20 No, what I t.old him is, I said, Do you 

21 have a checking accoun~ that has both your names on 

22 it? He said, Yes. I said, Okay, so this will work. 

23 Then write the check for that. 

24 Q. You mentioned when you were talk.ing about 

25 the partner-s of Vern B'l.lchananIJ:: earlier-, yeu 

ESQll.1B~ 

Tol! Fa'sa: foIOQ,322._ 

Facslmi!<!: 904.355,6152 

1609 Rlverpiace Tow@r 

1301 R!\lerplace Bo'ltf'V'.Il'd 

Jack!r.tmvfi!e, FL 32207 

www.esql.Jiresolutlons.com 

FECD0220 
64

Sam Kazran Noverr~er 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

29 

mentioned a person named David Long. 

2 A. Yes. 

Q. And you also mentioned that you might 

have had a conversation with him about reimbursing 

employees at his dealership? 

A. Yes. David Long and I had as I said 

7 before l in partners meeting during break and 

afterwards I before, as time went along, the partnerEl 

were not too happy about this money we were giving. 

10 And David was not very happy about that, you know. 

11 Him and discussed, said, you know 1. ask.ed him, 

.12 I said, How much are you writing this time? How much 

13 is t:his costing you? 

14 And he goes, Man, I'm getting tired of 

15 this every day. 11m getting phone calls, and I just 

16 den' t have that k:i.nd of money. 

17 Wi th respect t,o David Long, I know he had 

18 employees that ... there '....-as a finance manager, ... 

19 think, and a couple of other people. I know there's 

20 a lot more, but in a couple of incidents I was made 

21 aware of it because I understand that they had a 

22 problem wi th one and that employee came out and -,-

23 don't know if they hadn't paid him the amount of 

24 mcney or he had a problem with his paycheck. And 

25 once that came out, then Mr. Buchanan was kind of put 

ESQ1IIBg 

Toll free: soo.:.u:z_ Fa~Silmlle: 904.355.6152 

1609 Ri>rerplace Tower 

1301 RJ'IIerplace Boulevard 

JaCksOewme, fL 3l2Dl 

www.esqlJkesolwtIOrls..cClm 

FEC00221 
65

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

30 

-- distanced himself. He still talked with us, his 

inner circle; if you willi but with respect to David 

Long. r dici not talk to him. was in the finance 

-1 departmerlt, and he had a couple of peopl e in there I 

and Olle of them were sa,ying, I'm not going to give 

him any money l..l,nt i1 they pay me up front. 

7 Q. Do you remember who that person was? 

A. He was the finance director. This was 

several years ago. 

10 Q. Of the dealership t.hat David Long w~as 

11 managing? 

12 A. Correct. 

Q. Okay. Weill get hack to that, 

14 Is it possible that the person!s name was 

15 Joe Keezer',? Does that ring a bell? 

16 A. Yes, it is Jee. He wan the f:i.nance 

17 manager. Now, I think he had. a couple posit. iOllS" 

18 Joe was kind of a five-seven j five-eight gentleman. 

19 Yes, I think it~s Joe. 

20 Q, Did you ever have any conversat1r.ms wit.h 

21 David Long E,pecif.i.cally regard,ing reimbursing any of 

22 his emp1oyee8~1 Did he ever mention that he was asked 

23 to do it or if he hadn1t done it? 

24 A. We all -- this is -- the discussion I 

25 remember having with Dave l he was just tired. We 

Toll Free: 800.322.-

Fac< ... !tr.He: 9D4.355.6152 

1609 ~[\{erpli'lce Tower· 

1301 RI'Ierpiace UCl.lI~vard 

JacKsor,vllle, ft 3220-, 

www.esqw!r.-;so!ut.lolls.com 

FEC00222 
66

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

,---_ ..................................................... -.-- ....................•• _ .. _ .. _ .. _ .. _ .. _ .. _._---

31 

just don I t have this kind of money. We! re getting 

pounded all t:he time about get money, get money, get 

money. Our cash flow is bad. He was frustrated. 

My store \,las one of the more profitable 

5 ones, so cash flow was not. as big a deal. Obviously 

6 I -- but I thought from the beginning that we!re all 

going to get reimbursed for this money. 

Q. Do you knDw what I,eng! B relat iOTIship with 

Vern Buchanan is now? 

10 A. r don! t. know-. I haven I t spoken to him in 

11 some time. The last I talked with him was maybe a 

12 year ago, two years ago. 

1:3 Q. Are there any other of the partners that 

14 you have a clear recollection of: them acknowledging 

15 tna,t they reimbursed. any of their employees for 

~6 contributions they made to Bl.lchanan1s campaign? 

17 A. Yes, rr'!r. was in a partners meeting, 

18 w'as talking to Mr. Dennis Slater. I can! t remember 

19 what it was, pro fOl'mas, et cetera l and M::r:. Buchanan 

20 appr.oached and said, Dennis, I've not gotten your 

2] check yet. 

22 And he said, Boss, Ilm hoping to take a 

23 pass on it. He looked at him and smiled. Don(t 

24 worrYr you know you're going to get it back. He 

25 t.apped him on the shoulder and left. 

ESQl!.IBE. 

ToU free; 600,.322.- F8cs.lmlle: OO~ .355.6152 

1609 Riverpiace Tower 

]30)" Rhterplace Brm!evard 

Jacksorwiiie, Fl 32207 www4'!Squlresolutions.com 

FEC00223 
67

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAl, 

32 

Mr. Josh «'arid is my pa:ctner. We we.re. 

walking out of the hallway when Mr:. Buchanan. asked me 

to raise he told me -- I don't r.emember what day 

.it was, but that. Friday was the end of qua:r.ter. And 

he said to me, he says, Get Bornebody you trust and 

get t.he money out of the corporation. 

He [lad asked me to get money, I told him, 

I sa.id, t.hought you said that I! m maxed ou,!::.? I' -lie 

al ready given y01J that money. And he said , Well, 

10 just get somebody you trust and run it. through the 

11 corporation. 

12 Q. Do you have -- do you recall ever having 

13 any comrersat:lons with t.his person Kedn Brodski? 

A. Ke.v:!.,n with respect to specifics, no, 

15 but Kevin Brodski was also, you know, he was one of 

16 the more profitable dealerships. But we all talked" 

17 I mean, the discussions that we had, it Was a result 

18 of repeated and numerous :request.s for money. And 

19 they ~leI:e expressing disappointment: of it, you know, 

20 but I did not have a speci.fic talk with him, Kevin 

21 Brodski . 

22 BY MR. GOULD: 

Kazran, you used the term Hat. the end 

24. of the quart ex II Was this fiscal, financial quarter? I 

23l Q. Mr. 

25 __ A. ___ ~~ou know, it's a good qUestiO~ ... _ .. l'O _~~ ... J 

To!! Free: 800.322.-

Facs!m!!e: 904.355.5152 

1609 Rlverpl~ TOlHer 

1301 Rlverpiace BoUievarC 

Ja.:kso!1vilk, FL 32207 

w.ww.~sqlilresoilltior:$.,com 

FEC00224 
68

Sam Kazran NoYember 5, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

33 

day I den ~ t know I but I know that M:c, Buchanan used 

to say. Ilve got to report this money by this date, 

and we got to have more than the other candidate. 

And that I s what he said.. This is the end 

5 time, this is the end time. It!s a reporting. The 

first. couple of times I thought that this was the end 

for him, there!s no more campaigning but.! you know, 

the. following day, Well f we got another one that 

ItJ6' re starting. 

10 But whatever that is, I don f t know if 

11 it's fiscal year or quarters or whatever that is. 

12 Q. Did M:::-. Buchanan ever say lithia is the 

13 end of the quarter n? 

14 A.. Yes, yes. 

15 Q. Okay. Letts go back to the credit cards 

16 you made contributions with. Was this your persone.l 

17 credit card or was it the compa.ny credit. card? 

A. It was the company:s credit card. The:t'e 

19 were a couple of t.imes we attempted to cont:cibute to 

20 it, one time I know the credit card was maxed out and 

21 we weren:t able to do that. But all of the 

22 reimbursements were through the company wit.h the 

23 exception of the first. time that he asked me and I 

24 gave him the money cut of my own pock.et l which really 

25 came out of my paycheck. 

Toll Free: 800.322_ Facslmlle: 904.355.6152 

1.609 RlVerplace Tower 

1301 Riverpiace BOUIM3:rd 

Jackscnvl!le, FL 32207 

www.esqlJ!.esolutlons.com 

FECOO225 
69

Sam Kaz:t:an November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIl'.L 

34 

Q. Okay. Now, going back to the time frame 

2 when Mr" Buchanan was asking yO'll t.o make these 

contributions and c'"tsking you to get your employees to 

make ccnt.ribut:icns, what was the business 

5 relationship with Mr. Buchanan? 

A. I have had a great relationship witl) 

Mr. Euchanan up until June of 108. That!s when I 

discovered that he had taken some $800-or-··sG thousand 

9 cut of the company wit.hout my consent of the 

10 partnership in Gwinnett.. At the time the company was 

11 nClt do:ing good. Him ar,d I had a bad onc.e I 

12 discovered that that was the case, t.hen our 

13 relationehip became sour, 

14 Q. Okay. And I believe I read this 

15 somewhere -- and you can correct me if Ilm wrong 

16 the agre.ement that you entered into with !-1r. Buchanan 

17 to buy an. int~erf:!st or Mr, Buchanan 1 8 interest in 

18 Gwinnett j LLC, was in June of 2006? 

19 A. That! s correct. 

20 Q. Now. as we I ve sai.d, the FedE~Lal Election 

21 Commission records show that a lot of contributions 

22 WE~re made by employees I relatives in .Tune of 2006. 

23 Did t.he contributions have any connection with your 

24 business dealings? 

25 A. That l s the time that he had talked with 

~---------.. -----.... ----------

Toll Fre,e: 9000322_ facslmlle: 904.355.6l.52 

1609 fl,iverpiace Tower 

1301 R!verp!a-ce Boulevard 

liicksonviile, f-'L 322.07 

www.esqlJki.solm!ol"ls.(.om 

FEca0226 
70

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

3S 

me when we were walking in the hallway. The reason 

you~ll see a J.ot of contributions at, that time is 

that.!s when I think the corporate office wanted to 

add another $10,000 of fer;; into the dealershipt and 

didn I t want to do that. So we just discuss it. 

said, Let me just buy you out. And I wan suppoaed to 

give him 300,000, I think, Dr 400,000, but I didn1t 

have the money at the time, So I said I needed t.o 

9 CLlt that: down and do lower amount.s and pay you on 

10 payments, 

11 l'hat j s when he told me, he said . __ . in 

12 fact., that Tuesday before the end of the month on 

13 that June, I bet you it's one of the close of time, 

14 becaul3e he told me, he said, Friday is the end and r 

15 need you to raise -- I dOfllt remember if it wa.s 25-

16 or $50,000. 

17 And he said, If you do that., then I'm 

18 going to tak.e care of t:hat payment. So inst:.ead of: 

19 payi.ng him all at once, he agreed to let. me make 

20 payments on his buyout portion, but I had to raise 

21 that money. 

22 If you go back and check, I bet you t.hat 

23 whatever that end of June is, my agreement was in 

24 June, I don't: know what. but it 1 s probably going to 

25 be towards thE": end of June, or n;aybe beginning I I! m 

ESQ1J.IB~ 

Toll Free: 1300,322_ 

FJKSimile: 904,355.5152 

1{'09 RiverpIace Tower 

1301 Ri\le~-p!ace Boulevard 

~cksQf!vlUe: FL 32201 

WWW.<.;!!iI.1 Ll1I"eSQlutjQns.cl)m 
71

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

36 

...... --.... ~ 

but I remember cle.arly tha tis when he asked ' 

me. 

Q. And just for; the record, as I said 

before, this is based on information in the FEe 

database. these contributions were reported as 

received by the Buchanan campaign committ.ee on 

June 28, 2006. 

A. Correct. 

Q. Okay, Thatls your understanding that 

10 that I s the time frame in which you had t:hese 

11 discussions wi th Mr < Buchanan about him not :r.equiring 

12 you to make these payments to his -. 

13 A. Correct. 'rhe way I can remember, I don 't. 

14 know what the FEe report says. but the way I can 

15 remember is while we were negotiating to buy him out 

16 out: of the Gwinnett Place Dodge, that 1 f:1 when he asked 

17 me, he said, I will agree t.O take payment!;! instead of 

18 one lump sum, but you got to raise that money for me. 

19 And when I told him that I donlc. have it, he says, 

20 Well, get somebody you trust and run it through the 

21 corporat~ion. 

22 BY MR. SOVONICK: 

23 Q. Can r ask you a question. You said that 

24 he instructed you tD get people you coul.d t.rust. 

25 A .• Uh-huh. 

ESQ1H.Eg, 

Toil Free: eoO.322_ 

Facsimile: 904.355,6152 

1609 Rlve!'piace Towel' 

1301 RI'Jr;:rplace Boulevard 

Jacksonv!!!e, fL 32201 

www.esq'llresolutions<com 

FEC00228 
72

Sam Kazran Novewber 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAl, 

37 

Q. What did you understand that 'te mean? 

2 A. t~hen I told him t.hat - - he said he wants 

mere money, I t~hink he had aSElUmed that I already 

4 know what to do. And I said, Yeu already told me 

can't give any money. He says J Don I t you have 

semebody, like your brothe.r or someone you trust that 

you can get them to write a check for me'? And I said 

sure. That and the date that we were: walking out 

of the hall is when he said, Run it through the 

10 corporation. 

11 So my understanding was: Get: someone you 

1.2 can trust, have them writ.e a personal check and 

13 reimburse them. 

14 Q. Well, what l!m getting to is the trust 

15 i.Sl::lue. Was it. eVf?::' was he - did Buchanan ever 

16 inst,Tuct you or did he ever imply to you that what 

l7 this -- what was going ani what he was asking you to 

18 do ~oJas something that. you f:1hould keep quiet or not 

19 discuss? 

20 ~ .. After that day, I got. it:. I knew t.hat"~ 

21 we're not supposed to be discussing t.hia, that t.hat:g 

22 -- there's you have to know I I 1m i gnoran t about~ 

23 this stuff up to that pOi~lt, live nevel' cont.ribut~ed 

24 to any campaign. I don't know what the laws and 

25 procedures are. 

ESQll.IBA~ 

Toii Free: AOO.32.2_ 

f.acsirni!e: 904,355,6152. 

1609 RNerplace TO\lller 

1301 Ri\l~rolace Boufevard 

Jacksoiwlllc" FL 32207 

www.esqu!reso;utloo.s.corr: 

FEC00229 
73

Sam Ka.zran November G; 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

38 

1 I became very aware once we had a problem 

2 at the Ford store. But Vern and I had a very, vex:y 

close relationship. And I think: when he told me 

4: a.bout trust, I think he just. assumed I know what lim 

supposed to do. 

BY r-m. GOULD: 

Q. YOll said something about a prohl em at thE 

Ford .st.or€~. Cart you elaborat.e 

A. Yes. Well, the - - a couple of people in 

10 the Ford store started to talk about this publicly. 

11 And they, you know·· - and they were upset at 

12 somet~hing. Jl.~Ild Lhen later it Escalated where then 

13 the partners were talking about it. And ever since 

14 that then, you know 1 things became very different. 

15 Mr. Buchanan, to my knowledge; never 

16 would go and tal.k to entry-level salespeople or all 

17 tha.t. If.it was a manager that. ha.d been with the 

18 company for a long time l he would go and taJ.k with 

19 them. He would ask them for contribution, but he 

20 would promise things, you know. Held always have 

21 some sort of carrot out there I you know, A ',!\reekend 

22 on my boat or a promotion, things like t.hat. Hels 

23 always selling. 

24 I know that when he was at our 

25 dealerships with our senior management, held always 

ESQ1UB~ 

Toll Free; 800.322.-

F .. csImjle~ 904.355.6152 

160g !1ivetplace Tows" 

1301 ruvetpiace Boulevard 

Jack$onv1ile, I'L 322Q7 

www.esquirESQlutbos.com 

FEC00230 
74

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 CONFTUENTIAL 

39 

tell them, you know, You guys stay with us. '{oulre 

2 going to do very good. You know, Sam, why don't. yeu 

maybe want to get the jet and bring them out and 

we'll take them out and shaw them. Then right 

5 afterwards, you know/ You need t:o go get money from 

6 these people t you know. We need to raise money. 

Q. 'lou said "raise money, n Was it your 

und€!r!OItanding it was for the campaign? 

9 A. Campaign/ absolutely. 

10 Q. Going back t.O the F'ord dealership, you 

11 said that there was a problem with it. Do you recall 

12 the namES of any o:E the individuals who were going 

13 public with the --

14 A. r know ~Toe was one, but the day that I 

15 was talking _ .. the Ford store J those two folks were 

16 talking, it was the finance director. Joe, and 

17 another person. They were just pissed. They said, 

18 r ~m not: going to give him a.ny mere money. I need to 

19 get that money up front. 

20 And for the most part i I would say the 

21 vast majority of people l they didn1t care, you know. 

22 Their boss 19 telling them to write the check and 

23 theylll do it as long as t.hey get rein:\bursed. But I 

24 wotlld be wi lling t.o bet that as far as - - I know for 

25 certain that with respect to my dealerships, no one 

Toll Free: 800.322.-

Fadml!e: 904.355,6152 

1609 Rlver'!)!(lce Tower 

1301 RiV>efpiace Boulevl3rd 

Jacksorlv!U€, FL 32207 

www.-e5c;;:u[resohltkins.com 

FECOO23i 
75

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDEN'rIAL 

4D 

would have extra 500 or a thousand dollars or two 

2 in my case is w'as $ 9,000 .. - to contribute. These 

folks were just - - t.bey! re not in that .. - they can I t 

4 do that. 

Q. You said t.hat Joe was talking to someon.e 

else. Was that person a man ar a woman? 

A. He was - - no, the two people in the 

office, they're both men, yes. 

Q. Do YOll recall the name of that other 

10 person? 

11 A. No, I do not_ I apologize. You know/ 

12 that. was the only incident that I heard myself, but 

1.3 there was -- after a whi.le t:here was rumors 

14 E!verywhere. In fact f I know that it got so bad t.hat 

15 Mr. JClhn Tosch had an emergency meeti.ng and saYSf you 

16 know, in the event of possible litigations that are 

:1.7 coming and challenges that we have, werre changing 

IS compa.ny policies. 

19 He wanted all the partners to get there 

20 and discuss this to .. - you know, he said he wants to 

21 change some rules of [.he compa.ny. And I know that we 

22 discuBsed the lawsuit. in the partners meet.ing. 

23 can't remember when it was. 

24 iII m trying to remember if it was in 107 I: 

25 1 or _~6~._: _c_.a_,_,_' t_T_e_m_e_m_b_e_r_w_h_a_t_t_h_e_d •• a_t_e_. _w_,_,a_. ____ . ___________ l Tali Free: 800.322_ far:slm!le: 904.355.6152 

1509 Riverplace Tower 

1301 Riverplace Boulevard 

Jacksonville/ FL 32.207 

VlwVI.o'!s(.jui!"l'!solutlon<::;.com 

FEC00232 
76

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

41 

Q. The lawsuit, what lawsuit was that:'? 

2 A. Well, Mr. Tosch sent au t. a memo I a nd he 

says, In light of: all possible litigations, we are 

4 changing some policies. And it was kind of an 

important unexpected meeting that he wanted t.o talk 

6 to everyone about: .... hat:' s going en. 

7 

10 

11 

Q. So it was basically an invitation to a 

meeting? 

A. Correct. 

Q. 

A. 

And did this meet.ing t:ake place? 

Yes _ I did not go to that meet: ing. 

12 had an arrangement with a manufacturer that -- those 

13 days before that. 

14 Q. Did an~lone who attended the meeting tell 

15 you what had happened at the meeting? 

A. I know that Mark OrnsteiIl had come by 

17 Mark is the company! s attorney_ He I:epresented 

18 various dealerships for various matte:t,"s. And he had 

19 -- I guess my recollect.ion is that he had come by and 

20 told them -- he had told them that this guy is pissed 

21 offy we need to be more careful. From now on werre 

22 not hiring people i:h.at are - - have money problems. 

23 He indicated that this guy had been fired 

24 somewhere else for running his mouth and trying to 

25 sue people. don!t know who he was :t,-eferring to. 

Tol! Free: 300.322_ 

Facslmlie: 904,355.6152 

1609 Riverplace Tower 

1301 RI'ferplaC".<! Boulevard 

J;;Jci<sonviUe, FL 3220'7 

www.esquiresolutiQfls.com 

FEC00233 
77

5 

Sam Kaz.r.an Novernbe:r 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

42 

wasn't there, but this :is kind of a trickle-down 

rumor. 

Q. Do you know who this person -- this guy 

who was being referred to? 

A. :r I m not sure. At t.he time I was much 

more focused on dealing with my own business affairs, 

and lIve never actively looked or investigated ox 

learned more about this. In fact, quite to t.he 

contrary, I always wantEd b"j be as far away as 

10 possible. 

11 I wouldn I t even be here if J'osh, my 

12 former partner! did not express to John Tosch how 

13 frustrated he was with this campaign stuff and, 

14 obviously, a phone call from you folks. ThiEl:LS not 

15 the type of things that r like to do, 

16 So yeu folks had called one of my 

17 employees or sent him a letter, I don!t. know which 

18 one it was, and they were very scared. They said, 

19 you know, they didn I t even know who l:edfJral campaign 

20 commission. was They just heard "federal" and they 

21 got scared, so that's why I wanted to make sure that 

22 cleared they had nothing to do w.1.th this. 

23 Q. Now we can go back on the recor.d. 

24 Mr. Kazran, you had mentioned a gentl~man 

25 L.~_.~~:_ the name of Shelby Curtsinger. Remind mel which 

To!! Free: 800.322_ 

Facs!mlle: 904.355.6152 

1609 RII.'Er!J~ace tvwer 

1301 RJverpli'co! Boulevard 

Jacksonville, Fl. 32207 

'W\l>JW .esq vi resol vt!nns.coITI 

FEC00234 
78

Sam Kazran Noverrher 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

2 

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~~~~--"-~~-~'-'l 43 

dealership was he associat.ed with? 

A. Curby was a partner in venice Dodge and 

Venice Nissan. Curby is a store that they had -- I ' 

I 

4 think that's the one that they had paid cash -- I 

can't remember if it was a GM or GSM that had spoken 

to their salespeople and the lower level management 

and they just give them cash to write the check for 

Mr. Buchanan 1 g campai.gn. 11m sorry, go ahead. 

Q. You used the term GSM or GM? 

10 A. Yes, general sales managers, I apologize; 

11 and general managers, They're: senior management. 

l2 Typically speaking, the partners would have the 

13 general managers who are their right-hand man l and 

14 obviously they probabJ.y 'Work together for some t.ime. 

15 And they're the ones who would help raise money and 

16 run the company, 

17 So, you knew, in that particular instance 

18 I know that: t:he:re wa.s a problem because they were too 

19 open about it. I can~t quite recall , but I think 

20 that:' s when one of the senior managers had gone to a 

21 meeting and sa.id, ~~e! re raising money for Vern and 

22 

23 

25 

write me a check. And he was reimbur:'3ing them rlght 

there and then. And this type of '!:,hing was nappen:jn g 

prett.y often" 

----------~---

And again, as I said before, these are 

Toll Free; 800,322,_ 

FacsllT\i!e: 904,355.6152. 

1609 Rlverpl",ce Tower 

13m Rlverplace aoti~evard 

J<:l!;ksonvlUoe. Fl32207 

www,esqlJlrt!solut~ons.cOfl1 

FEC00235 
79

Sam Ka2ran Navember 6, 2009 CONFIDEN'I'IAL 

regular tolks. We~re not inyolved in t.his type of 

thing. It! s no big deal. I mean, all along up to 

the very last few months that Mr. Buchanan became 

very aggressive and threatened me:, I thought. he just 

doesn't want anybody to know that it's his own money. 

6 He told me that. if I use my Own money it's not going 

to look good f I! ve got to ha~ve other people, you 

know, write me checks to show that -- you know. 

He says, I know Ilve got my own money, 

10 but itls just never going to look as good. He even 

1.1 used an example. Some other gUYI he Baid, put his 

.1.2 own money in the:ce but he didn't win because it was 

13 not the people. 

14 So that was my impr·ession of why he 

15 wanted to do all this stuff. As far as it being 

16 illegaJ., I'm very confident n.D one kne .. ·,; that these 

17 type of things are federal violations. 

18 Q. D.i.d you ever have any conversations with 

19 Mr" Curtsinger about~ thea,:! contributions and the 

20 reimbursements? 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

A. Specifically after that , no. As r said, 

once t.hese things - - you know, there was a couple of 

problems t.hat blew up and they were allover the I: 

L.._:_:_:_:_a_~_:_:_:_p_:~;_:c::~~.~~;c:::s::. sa:::O::~e F:::: da, .. :~ foll Free: 800.3.22._ 

F~C5jmiie: 904.355,6152 

Hi09 RIl,'erplace Tower 

13fH Rlverpiace P...ou!evard 

Jacksonvllie, FL 322:07 

www.esQuite§olutlorrs.com 

FEC00236 
80

Sam Kazran November" 6, 2009 CONFIDENTIAL 

r------------------.. _._-_ .. _ .. _ ... _ ... _ .. _ ...... _ .. . 

45 

happened, VE~rn ",- I know he SpOkE: with me, IJohn Tosch 

was also speaking i it :·:ind of stopped.. We cannot. be 

doing- it in t.his open marmer. 

I think Vern applied t.oo much pressure on 

the partners; and it just -- you know, when your boss 

tells you you need t.o get this money for me, yeu :just 

go get it, you know. And at. any given time every 

partner or general manager or general sales manager 

is either hoping to get a. promot:Lon or a new 

10 partnership and that was always leverage, so ... 

11 Q. At any of t.he partners meet.ings t.hat you. 

12 at.tended, was t.here a disc:U!~si.on about these problems 

13 about people talking about the reimbursements? 

14 A. Yes. We·· - you know, we kind of had of r: 

15 record and on record talk. Mark Ornst(:;!in normally 

16 would be the person who explains the rules. Off 

17 record, you know, w:Lth Shelby, remember one time 

l8 him, me and a couple -- 1 want. to say it was Steve 

19 Silverio and Dennis" And Shelby was expressing 

20 because cash flow was really, real1.y bad, we're not 

21 going t.o be dol.ng l~hiEt< plus all Lne heada.ches and 

22 problems ·,·dth the st.ore. He. expressed he was pretty 

23 much done with it. 

24 Steve Silveri.o was another guy that had a 

25 talk with me, and he said -- I think he was one of 

ESQ1IIBE 

Toll free: 800,322._ 

FacslmHe; 904.355,6152. 

1609 RhJerplace TO\.'J~r 

1301 R!verpl~tt! EOI.IJevard 

JacKsonville, f'l nZOl www.e!iqulr~!>oiut!ons.rnm 

FEC00237 
81

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

---------- ----------------------------------~, 

46 

the guys that gave Vern some money. r don't know how 

2 much, but he told me, he saysj I am not -- he says, 

Vern has got plenty of money himself. If he wants to 

4: give me t.he money upfront, then Till do it, but r:m 

not advancing the money upiront anymore. 

BY MR. SOVONICK: 

Q. Yes, you said that during this 

conv-ersation that you remember with Curtsinger he 

said that be's not gD:l.n9 to ,be do.ing this anymore, 

10 was he referring to reimbursing his employees? 

11 A. Yes. We used t,o joke a lot about this 

12 before the meetings .. having coffee, you know. 

13 remember the partner in Bowling Green from Mercedes 

14 Benz being -- r canlt r:emernber what his name was. 

15 Q. Is t.hat in Kentucky? 

16 A. Correct. Scott -- I don't. know what his 

17 name is, because it's been quite some t.ime. That 

18 deale:r-ship had several part.ners, bl.lt he said, So how 

19 much are you guys gett.ing hit. for? You know, I got 

20 hit for five grand last week or ten grand. Numbers 

21 like this. And we would just joke around about it. 

22 But as I said , I think this was kind of a 

23 favor for Mr. Buchanan at first, but then nobody got 

24 their money, and then pressure applied and, you know, 

25 after: a while everybody was just kind of fed up with 

------------~.--------~------------" 

Toll ~';ee: 80(,"),322_ 

FacslmHe: 904,355.6152 

1509 R.! .... e:rplace Tower 

1301 Rlverpiac:e Bou!evard 

Jacksonv;Ue, FL 32207 

WWW.f;..sf.tu!resolutluns.com 

FEC00238 

i 
82

Sam Kazran November 6/ 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

47 

Let me go back to something that we!ve 

4 discussed a little bit, and that!s the use of the 

company c:r.edit card t;o make contributions. believe 

6 you told us that you made a contribution to a 

10 

committee called Vern PAC with the company credit 

card. Do you recall contributions to other political 

committees where you used the credit car·d? 

No. The only person I! ve ever donatE~d 

11 money to wi th - - is what l\1r. Buchanan told me. Just 

12 for his, I know he's been involved in several other 

13 oncs. donlt, know much of the detai.l. I know that 

14 he was a.ctively invc,lved with Senator Mel Martinez. 

15 '[ know he had several discussions about him helping 

16 Senator Mel Martinez and that, you know, he said he·B 

17 going to be senator, 11m going to be governor, but 1 

18 donlt really know the details in that. 

19 Q. And just so I'm clear on this/ did 

20 Mr. Buchanan tell you to use the credit card? 

21 A. Himself, yes. Mr. Euchanan had direct 

22 discussions with me every single tirt.e < He would have 

23 someone to call. I don 1 t know what discussion.'5 they 

24 had, but. they would S,;ty, Mr. Buchanan told me that. 

25 you would be sending a check. I want to make sure 

Toll Free; 90Q.322_ 

f'ac:.lmlle: 904.3.55.6.1.52 

1509 lliil@rp!;,:c@ Tcw£r 

no). RiVerpiace Boulevawd 

)e:cksonv!l!e, fL 32207 www.F.;squ;reoo!utlons.com 

FEC00239 
83

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIA-I, 

------------------------- _._-----, 

48 

you h.ave the address. Have you sent it? 

Eut he would call me di:rect:.ly and ta.lk 

with me. What he said to me with respect to the 

4 credit card, he says, I want yeu to get the card 

5 whomever it was, the lady, I gave them my ca:rd 

number, but Vern said ten grand. 

There was another time that. I give credit 

card. She called me and said th.e credit card wasn~t 

-- the limi.t. on it was maxed out at the time, but we 

10 would just give this J.ady the credit card, do,n.' t 

11 know how, where they charged it for, but what he told 

12 me~ he saidr Classify it as Vernis PAC. 

13 Q. Can you give me -- to the best: of your. 

14 recoll_ection, how much of the Hyundai of North 

15 Jacksonville Company money was used for cOEtributioHe 

16 to Mr. Buchanan1s 2006 campaign? 

17 A. Well/ it wasn!t just Hyundai of North 

18 Jacksonville, It was other -- specifically Gwinnett 

19 Place Dodge as ..... lell. What. happens is we had a 

20 centralized accounting 'With almoELt everything, t.he 

21 payr:cll, the insurance, et cet.era, would go t:hrough 

22 Hyundai. So Hyundai would pay, then the other store 

23 would do an intercompany t.ransfer. 

24 Over' all, I believe we were over 

25 $lOO,OOO,.T. know that at one point when I was 

--------------------------

Toll Free' 80D.322_ 

facslmlle: 904.355,6151 

1609 R!v~rprat:e Tower 

1301 Rlverplac~ Boulevard 

JacksonvUle, Fl 32207 www.E5qulresoiutions.com 

FEC00240 
84

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL, 

49 

talking with Mr. Tosch. I sent him an e-mail, had 

2 some $SO-something thousand did not include the 

cred.i. t card and it d:i..d not include t.he money t.bat 

wrot.e, which r never expected to get back. Eut very, 

very close to $100,000 is what ... 

Q. Were there any employees at Gwinnett who 

'7 made the contributions and then were reimbursed? 

A. Well, Vincent Sams and Josh were helping 

and Gail Lephart, they worked for both the 

10 dealership!:1, They had -- Gail was ove:r.sF.:eing the 

11 office there. Josh also would help me with that! and 

12 so did Vj,ncent Sams. And, as you know, we don I t have 

13 access to our records now with the receivership, but 

14 1 1 m pretty confident that il l 8 close to 100,000. 

15 don't know how much the ones we gave you, 80 there is 

16 possibly two or three more names there. 

17 If you folks give me -- I don't knew if 

18 you guys keep track ~'jf the people that donate money 

19 to -- if you have the names, I can read them and I 

20 can share with you if I recognize any of t.hem. 

21. Q. Were there any of those partners that 

22 you had said before if you thought -- if you could 

23 remember any other names that you would tell us. 

24 A. Yes Well, here's a couple I shared 

25 with you the conversation Vern had wit.h Dennin 

To!! free: 800.32Z_ 

Facslmlle: 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverpli3ce Towel" 

1301 Rlverplace i!!oulevard 

Jacksonvme, FL 32207 

www.esqwi ... esotlJt:~oi.ls.com 

FEC00241 
85

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

50 

slater. know the partner in North Ca,rolina, 

believe that's Jim, and I know that Jim 

had spoken to someone, to another partner who shared 

with me. He E!aid, You. know, Jim went out and paid 

Vern, but he turned around and bought furni.ture for 

himself. 

Q. Can you explain, He bought f.urniture for 

himself with why dontt you explain t.hat, 

A. Yes. So aftel.~ t.his, you know i the level 

10 of lnt:ens.ity that went up, and when this -- these 

11 things happened with Sarasota l?ord and the managers 

12 complaining, the contributions were Jim Gruisko 

13 apparently, from my understanding, that. he 

14 contributed to the campaign and then went out and 

15 bought fu,nliture for himself fOJ::' the company. 

16 See, what happens is Ver.nls a perce.ntage 

17 partner and the other partners are percentage. Well, 

18 if you take $10,000 or $5,000 out of the company, his 

19 shares are not: going to be there too. But: itt G my 

:2 0 understandi.ng that the money that was contributE!d to 

21 the campaign, he paid for himself with his check and 

22 then he went out and got the money out of the company 

23 and bought furniture with it. 

24 I don1t know what kind of fu:cniture, all 

2.5 that, I just overheard that's what Jim had done. 

ESQQ.!R.~ 

foil Free: 800.32.2._ 

FaC3lrnlle: 904.355.6152 

1609 R!vE;p[ac~ Tower 

nOt RI\rerp!ace Boulevard 

JC!;t:kS[JrlvU!e, fL 32207 

WWW.p.r>qIJlrlE.solutions.com 

FECOO242 
86

Sam Kazran November 6, 

CONFIDENTIAL 

3 I 

i=~:~:;:~="~-=,~~~, J-osh Farid, hew do yeu spell his last name? ~ A. 

Q. Do you know his wi.fe I ,:; name? 

A. Yes lit 1 sAt -- e f ,- e ,. h. 

Q. Do you know approximat.ely when Josh 

contributed? 

A. Well~ know when we went back from the 

10 pa,rtne:rs meeting in 106, but it's very possible that 

11 he contributed later too. As I mentioned, 

12 Mor. Buchanan frequently talked to me abmIt: this so, 

13 you know.,. 

Q. Do you know if his wife contributed ae 

1.5 well? 

16 A. Well J the check that th,ey wrote, Josh was 

17 very well aware because he knew Mr. Buchanan and 

18 several discussions I had. on the phone, Josh had been 

19 wi,th me, 80 he knew that he was -- it was supposed to 

20 be two checks. 

21 l.l"csh was ve:r"y frustrated, and he sent out. 

22 an e-mail to Mr ... John Tosch expressing he was ver.y 

23 mac} at me when Mr. Buchanan -~. when he took this 

24 money out of the bank -- not the campaign but several 

25 hundred thousand dollars, we -- our company was 

ToU free: 800.32,2.- FacsimIle, 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverpli!lce Tower 

DOl R.lverpim:s BO!J~ev~rd 

Ja(k!iOlwUle, Fl 32;207 

www.esqulre;o!ut:ons,~cm 

FEC00243 
87

10 

Sam Kazran Novernber 6, 2009 

CONF IDllNT IAL 

--------------------------------------

52 

having cash problems. And Josh several times told 

me, You need t.O go to Vern and ask to pay this money 

back. We need it. And then John Tosch really made 

Josh upset, he never was paid any of his ... 

Q. Just one other. question about Josh, then 

11m dane, Jack. Do you happen t.o know where he 

lives? What his home address is? 

A. He lives in Jackson.ville. don 1 t know. 

He lives on Southside. I don't know his exa.ct 

address, but it1s right Southside I Deer Creek 

11 area. 

12 MR, SOVONICK: Okay, great. 

13 BY HR. GOULD: 

14 Q. If: a;: a later time you recall his 

15 address, will you please contact us? 

16 A_ Yes, of course. just have to call him. 

17 He does not actively work with me anymore, but we. 

18 Q. Okay. Getting back to ccntributions made 

19 by your employees, the FEe records show that you 

20 contributed $4,600 to Vern Buchanan for Congress on 

21 or about Sept:ember 2, 2007" Was this contribution 

22 made in connection with any of your business dealings 

23 with Mr. Buchanan? 

24 A. Correct. All of every contribution 

25 made to Mr. Ve:rn Buchanan was not because we wanted 

Tol! f'ree: 800.322._ 

Facs:irnlie: 904.355.6152 

16(;9 Rlye'11!a~ Tower 

1301 R!verplace Boulevard 

lack'>On'llllfe, fL 37.207 

www.e~qu!msc!utit1r:s.:::nm 

FEC00244 
88

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

53 

to -- I mean, the first check that I wrote, I had 

assumed that he wanted me -- you know, my senior 

3 I partner wants me to write a check, so I I rn not going 

to question it. But aft.erwards/ every money that we 

5 gave him, we had to -- we reimbursed out of the 

compa'ny. 

'7 Q. What husi.ness dealings did you have going 

on with Mr. Buchanan in that time period, which again 

is the end of 2007? 

10 Well, Mr. Buer,anan had a first right of 

11 refusal with me when the Gwinnett Place Dodge lAo'as a 

12 dealership t.hat was awarded to me by Chrysler 

13 Corporation for f!~ee. But when I went~ to purchase 

14 it:, Mr. Buchanan said t.hat I have a first right of 

15 refusal and I can~t have it, eo I was forced to give 

16 him 51 percent 0 But then later when I wanted to buy 

17 it, he says, You can pay me a million dollars I but in 

18 lieu of doing payments, he wanted me to commit to 

19 money to the campaign. 

20 And that and the second time that he 

21 was runnlng l we were in the process of buying the Kia 

22 dealership. EUt, you know, I was a pretl:y good 

23 partner r if you wlll, ",li.th Mr. Buchanan, so he always 

24 

25 

always said, 11m counting on you now, You're 

that can raise this kind of money. Make 

Toll Free~ 800.322_ 

Facsln"iile: 90-1.355.6152 

1609 11Nerp!ace Tower 

1301 Rhterplace Boulevard 

Ja;;ksilnvtiie, FL 322.07 

www.esqu!r€solutions.com 

FEC00245 
89

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTLU 

.... _-_ .. _ ... _ .. _ .. _ .. _ .. _ ..... _ .. _--------, 

54 

sure you get it. Make sure you get: it < 

There would be times tha.t JI.1r. Buchanan 

would call me in a week's time several times. 

4 mean, very aggress:i.vely too. I mean, I remember 

having two, three phone calls in a two, three-day 

period. 

Now, if you guys go and check the ClOSE 

of reporting, that quarterly reporting, youtll see 

that, you knc:.w J at the beginning you get a small 

10 amount, but then towards the end of it. he would 

11 al waYB CKpect l.IS to do rnor:"!:!. 

12 (FEe Exhi.bit 2 was marked for 

identification.) 

14 Q. M:c, KazrHn, 1 1 m going to hand you a 

15 document that haa been marked for idEntitication 

16 Exhibit 2. It is a five-page document and the first 

17 page has a heading that says Confidential Settlement. 

18 Communication. Please take a look at: t.hat document. 

}9 P •• Yes, I recognize this, 

20 Q. Please tell us what this document is. 

21 A. This document is an agreement bet.ween me 

2.2 and Mr. Vern Buchanan after." I discovered that he had 

23 embe221ed money from the company. And the e.-maiJ to 

24 Josh had said he carne in the picture, and prior to 

25 that he hadn ~ t spoken t.() mE~. 

To!! Free; 800.322_ 

Facsimlle~ 904,355"£152 

1609 Rlverpli:!ce Tower 

130J RNerp!ace Boufevard 

Jackson .... !!le, FL 32207 

www.esqu(r~so!ut:ons.com 

FEC00246 
90

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CON}~IDgNTIAL 

,-----------------------------------------

55 

And just to make a long story short, he 

agreed to pa.y me back. the one and a half million 

dollars that was a result of the damage that was 

cau~;ed to the company from 8- or $900,000 of money he 

had taken out plus the payments that I had made to 

him. Plus at the time I did not want to have an.y 

more partnership with him. And I wanted hi.m to buy 

out the partnership fr.-om the Ki.a store. So he agreed 

to pay me $2.9 million. This was shor.-tJ.y --- this was 

10 right befcrre the election. 

11 But 1 decided not to go through this. 

12 2.9 rnillicn j and lIm glad you brought this up because 

13 I want to put on record at no time I ever acted to 

14 financially benefit from this. In fact. quite the 

15 contrary, live been doing my best t.o avoid t.h:i.s. 

16 But ~1r. Buchanan told me that he will pay 

17 Lbe money that he owes, and he wilJ. buyout his 

18 po:rtion of the company and we were going to split the 

19 company. Be signed the contract; and this i8 what he 

20 wanted me t:a do. 

21 Q. Mr". Kazran, will you turn to t:he laBt 

22 page of Exhibit No. :2, the signature l:Lnes. 

23 A_ Yes 

24 Q- Do you reccgoi.ze the signature of _ .. tell 

25 me which signatures you recognize. 

roll Frt!~; 800.322_ 

Fl.'IC5iml!e: 904,3SS,6Ei2 

1609 Rlverplace TowRr 

1301 R:v~rp[ace 8oule ... ard 

Jacksonville, FL 32207 

www.esqu1resollltlolls.c.om 

FEC00247 
91

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

56 

A. It's Mr. Vern Buchanan's signat.llre a .. nd 

2 M::r. John Tosch. 

Q And how is it that you recogn:i.ze these 

signa .. tures? 

.r... I have seen t:i"l.ese s igna..tures several 

times. Mr. Buchanan and I have had several cont.ract.s 

together. lIm confident that~s his. Plus this 

document came from their attorneysj and I have an 

e-mail that says Mr. Buchanan signed the documents, 

10 We need Mr. Kazran to sign sa that we can proceed 

11 with funding. 

12 Q. MI'. Kazral1, Exhibit 2, does thi.s appear 

13 to be a true and correct copy of the ConEidential 

14 Settlement Communication that was given to you by 

15 Mr. Buchanan's attorney? 

16 A. Co:c:rect. . 

17 Q. Do you know who prepared this document? 

l8 A. Yes, Mr. Vern Buchanan's attorneys, their 

19 :n.ame:LS Lindell & Farson and M:r:. Mike Lindell. 

20 Q. Was Mr. Buchanan present during the 

21 settlement negotiations? 

22 A. I had spok.en to him seve:r-al times on the 

23 phone. We did discuss on a conference call this 

24 agreement and the dollar amount.s of it. Most of our 

25 communicat ions we~'e on the phone. 

Toll Fre-~~: .800.322_ 

Facslrn!l~; 904.355,5152 

loOt;! Rlveql~ar.:e Trower 

1301 Riv€rplace BDulevard 

Jacksonville, FL 32207 

www.es::r.lJlr@sr;lut!ons.ccm 

FEC00248 
92

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CON'F'IDENTIAL 

----------------_.------------------------------------------------------- -----------, 

57 

Q, Was this agreement important to you? 

A. Yes. 'rhis agreement would h.ave saved my 

company and almost. 500 employees that were working. 

4 I was very, very much in need of this money. 

10 

Q. Okay. Mr. Kazran, I would like you to 

turn to page 4 of Exhibit No.2, and I want to draw 

your attent:lon to what. appea:rs to be paragraph No, 

12. 

A. Okay. 

Q. For the record, paragra.ph 12 says: 

11 Further conditions to t.he disbursement: of t.he escrow 

12 amount~ are as follows: Subpara~!raph .~, Kazran I s 

13 execution of the affidavit attached hereto as Exhibit 

14 A. 

15 And you had seen this paragraph in t.his 

16 agreement? 

17 A. Yes, but that. was -- I t.hought t-he 

18 affidavit. that they!re talking about -- and, in fact, 

19 there should be an affidavit '.:hat described the 

20 schedules of the contract. But the reason I chose 

21 not. to sign t-his contract was because ... I'm sorry. 

22 I apologize. I didn1t mean to talk over you. 

24 

25 

(FEe Exhibit .3 wa!:: marked for 

ident.ification. ) 

Q. Would you mark this as Exhibit 3. 

Toll Froo: 800.32.2._ 

FacslmHe: 9a<l.3SS.E>152 

1609 Rlverplw:e Tawer 

1301 I~j\lerplate 8oule1Jard 

JaCkSOlwiUe, Fl32.2.Q7 

WWW.l?squlresollltiorbs.com 

FEC00249 
93

Sam Kazran 

COt~FInENTIAr. 

59 

!v1:r, Kazran, 11m handing to you a document 

t.hat has been marked for identification as Exhibit 

No .. ~" It. is .;J. two-page document:, The heading of 

the document is, it says Affidavit of Sam Kazran, 

a/k/a and it has a different spelling of your last 

name. 

A. Correct: . 

Q. And at the bottom of this document/ 

Exhibit No.3! the wO:::'d Exhibit A. Would you take a 

10 moment to look at this document. 

11 lL Yes, Yes, r remember thi s. 

12 Q. Okay. This Exhibit. NO.3 you've seen 

13 this before? 

14 A. Yes, 

15 Q. Is this the affidavit that is referred to 

16 in Exhibit No, 2: with the Confidential Settlement 

17 Cammunicatiorl? 

18 A . NO, this was an affidavit t.hat 

.19 Mr. Buchanan did not want to talk: in fact 

20 Q. Hold en. Mr. Kazran, maybe Ilm all wrong 

21 about this. This talks about the attachment --

22 A. This Tight here. 

23 

24 

25 

Q. 

A. 

Right.. Which is 

This affidavit. I'll show it to you. 

~}ell J I I rn just telling you; f.-1r, Kazran, 

TCla Free: eOO.3n __ 

fac;lmHe: 904.355.6151 

ESQ1!IBJ:~ 1609 Riverpfi3iCe IO'lli'er 

1301 Rhft',rtact' B0uiel(arr.1 

Jackson'lWer FL 32207 

www.esqulresol\Jtion:;,CQm 

FEC00250 
94

10 

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

59 

the affidavit attached hereto as Exhibit 

document. at t.he very bott.om says Exhibit 

A. I just want to know 

A. Correct. 

Q. r~]y aSEnllnption tha!:, t~hif:B Exhibit Pl, and 

that Exhibit A 

A. Yes. No, I apologize. 

Q. No, no, please. If I'm wrong about that, 

you know, tell me. 

A. 11m t.elling you what happened is they 

11 tried -- this exhibit was ... 

12 Q. Mr. Kazran, r previously asked you 

.13 questions about Exhibit No" 3, the affidavit. of Sam 

14 Kazrar:. t:hat: at t~he bottom of: t.hat. exhibit is t.he 

15 words "Exh1bit A" typed on it. And my question, 

16 belieye, was: Is this document, Exhibit A, is this 

17 the Exhibit A that is referred to in the Confidential 

18 Settlement Communication whic,tl we have marked for 

19 identification as Exhibit 3? 

20 A. Yes. Sorry about that. The A and the 3 

21 confused me. This is the affidavit that Mr. Buchanan 

22 wanted me to sign t and it was going to be a. condition 

23 of this cont.ract except they never brought it up with 

24 me until a.fterwards. Initially, had thought that, 

25 you know, normally when you do a contrac't t:here ~l.re 

ESQ1Z.!B~ 

..• _-_ ..... _-_ .. _---' 

Toll Free: 80::1.322_ 

Facsimile: 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverpiace Tm'lof-r1301 Rlv~fp!a'e Bouievard 

J<lC~(JHvi~et FL 32207 

IAIw'll,esqlllresol~tiol1s.r.:om 

FECOO251 
95

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

60 

exhibits t.here! but after: M:ro Buchanan signed this he 

called me a couple of hours later and he said, 

Congratulations. Be asked me to come to Sarasota and 

meet hiIT':. 

When I went there, he had told me his 

atto:cney bad prepared chis affidavit and he wanted me 

to sign :Lt.. And 1 was so desperate to save my 

company that I would probably have signed it had it 

not been because of my wife and my attorney. who my 

10 attorney Baid s Sam, this iEl a bad person. I ~m 

11 surprised that he would go to this extent. And 

12 knew exactly why he did that. He knew how desperate 

13 I was, and he wanted t.O use that. opportunity to get 

14 that. 

15 But: this affj_davit b~lsicalJy wanted me to 

16 say that Vern had 1'J.O idea about this and that 1 e m t.he: 

17 one who did all of it; which is absolutely ;!'.Dco:crect. 

18 Q. When you say "about thi.'5," what. are you 

19 refer:ring to? 

20 A. The campaign contributions. He wanted me 

21 to say that Vern had nothing to do with campaign 

22 contributions. Wher~ I said no to them, Mr. JchYl 

23 Tosch said, Barn l you want t.his money? You have five 

24 minutes t:o 13,ign this contract _ .. to s:1gn t.hiB 

25 affidavit or the contract is not going to go through. 

To!1 Free: 800,322_ 

Facslmlle: 904,355.&152 

1609 FHverplece Tow~r 

1301 ruver(JIt!ce BQtJ~eva(d 

)ac~<;onv1Be. fL 32.2.07 

WWW.~5lluire.:a!utl~n5.com 

FEC00252 
96

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

,---------------------.. _ .. _-_ .. _-_ .. _ .. -

61 

Q. Let me go through Borne of this affidavit. 

First of all, who gave this document. this affidavit 

to you? 

A. My attorney. This was sent -- tr.is was 

prep~.red by Mr. Vern Bucllanan (13 attorneys and sent. to 

our attorneys. 

"7 Q. Does this document which we have marked 

for identification as Exhibit No. 3 does Lhis appear 

to you to be a t:r'w:! and corr(~ct copy of the affidavit 

10 that you had just told us abou.t? 

11 Correct. 

12 Q. Did Mr. Buchanan discuss this affidavit 

:13 with you? 

14 .r:..., .~bsolutely, 

15 Q, When was that? 

:16 A. This was right after he signed t.he 

17 contract, he asked me to meet him in sarasota. 

18 did, And he said, need a favor, I need you to 

19 sign this aff idavit. He mentioned that t:here' s so 

20 much heat and lawsuits going on that he did not want 

21 any more of t.his. 

22 You knew, was so excited to save the 

23 company, I .said, Sure, But when I read it, I became 

24 very uncomfortable. )\.J1d I v/anted to be hone.st, I 

2.5 said, Look, Vern, you know, lIve never wanted to 

TrJlI free: 600.322_ 

Fac;lm1!B: 9011 .355 €lS1 

1509 Rlverplace Tower nOl Riv-erpbce Soulev<lrd 

Ja6:SilnvlUe, Fl 32207 www,esquiresclutiOrls.ocm 

FEC00253 
97

Sam Kazran November Gj 2009 

CONFIDENTI,AIJ 

62 

bring this up. You want me to sign something that's 

fine. but I canlt be lying and putting myself in a 

spot. So when I said no to him, he was, Okay, no 

problem, we' 11 talk about t:h21't: And t.hen he began 

talking to me about how hel,s going to be the governor 

and I shouldn f t be Uns don't want him to be 

7 against me but on my side. 

But. t.he following day Mr. John Tosch told 

me he was frustrated, very frustrat.ed ""lit.h me when I 

10 teld him I canlt sign this. Mr. John Tosch tcld me, 

11 Sam, you got five minutes to sign this document or 

12 the deal is off, And when he said that., r became 

13 f:!~llst:rat;edl and I said, Tha.t! s fine. We're going to 

14 go to court. 

15 And I want to pu.t OIl record here I was 

16 very, very tempted this was just before his 

17 election - -- t.o go public with this, but I did not do 

18 it. My wife prevent:ed me from doing BO but th:is 

19 by not signing this, I lost my company. And I'm very 

20 frustrated about it because this has nothing to do 

21 wit.h t.he other, absolute:Ly nothi.ng to do wit.h the 

22 other. 

23 Q. When you say "nothing to do with the 

24 othe:t"," what do you wean'? 

25 A. The contract., v.~hat - - this money that he 

T'.l!! !'re-e: BOO.322._ 

Facsimile: 904,355.6152 

1609 RI'Ierp!.;lCe Tower 

1.301 R!vr:!rplace Bo~II€vard 

Jackson'li!le, FL 3.21.07 

wI/tlw.esqulre50lutlof]!,.com 

FEC00254 
98

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CON>'IDENTTAL 

63 

is going to pay was money he took out. Now, there 

are two sets, the campaign contributions and the 

contre.ct: that IH~ s:J.gned t,o buyout. my shareB and. his 

4 shares had absolut,ely nothj,ng to do with each other, 

10 

but he made it a condition afterwards and he did --

if I did not sign the afEidavtt. to blame everything 

OIl mel then there would be no agreement and contract 

to purchase out the dealership and give me back t~he 

money. 

Q, Let me just ask a question for 

11 clarification. You said that there was two 

12 categories of money. Was this agreement intended t.o 

13 give back money to the company t.haJ: t~he comp~ll1y had 

14 spent :reimbursing emplrJyees and ot:hers to make 

15 contributions? 

16 This contract, the one that 

17 $2.9 mi.llion? 

18 Q, Which is Exhibit._. 

19 It's Exhibit 2. No, this has notlling to 

20 do wit:h the other one. Up t:o the point 

21 Q, The Ilather one't being? 

22 A. The affidavit. 

23 I have never asked or brought. th i8 up 

24 wi t.h Mr, Buchanan. He I s the one who started i t_. 

25 He's the one who filed the lawsuit, otherwise I would 

Toli Free; 600.322_ 

Fa('siml!e: 90-'1,.355,6152 

1609 Rivel1'lace Tower 

1301 R!verpface Bou!e"lard 

.lack!'.onvH!e, H. 32207 

www.esqulre<;olutlorls,()m 

FEC00255 
99

Sam KaZl,'an November 6, 2D09 

CONF IDENTIAJ" 

64 

have never f.iled a la-.·lsuit against him. He~s the one 

2 that. brought this up, otherwise I wouldn't .. - you 

know lIve been trying to avoid you folks for some 

4 time. 

The agreement.. that I ma.de wi.th him on 

this is exactly the dollar amounts r not a penny more, 

than what he cost the company. And have receipta. 

Thatts salea tax. health coverage a.nd the money that 

he took out of the bank account. I have - - 1 know 

10 that I~ve had so many people have attempted to get 

11 their hands on this. live been offered to have 

12 complete immunity if I go publiCI if I 9'ive him t:his. 

13 I've had offers to go public and they 

14- would not mention my name. And I know that this -

15 know WlUtt: he did was wl.·O.11g. He thought that. because 

16 I~m so desperal:e I'm going to r::ign this. And I know 

17 that the consequences was 80 bad, but he~s just not. a 

18 good person, 

19 could not gee - .. I mean, I was tempted, 

20 I was tempted to sign and g'et him off; I would have 

21 done anytrling to save my company, but r didn! t. And 

22 after they backed. us out, I wanted to destroy him by 

23 going public and showlng this. And my wife prevented 

24 me from doJng it. 

25 And you I ;ce the only ot.her. person that 

ESQQIBJ~ 

Toll Frl*!: 800,322_ 

Facsiml!e: 904.355.6].52. 

1609 R;verp!ac.:e Tower 

13Gl. R1Verpk"1c€ Boulevard 

Jacl-:sOr'IYIilE:, FL 32207 i 

www.esqufreroh .itlons.cvm i 

FEC00256 
100

Sam Kazran r.:.rovember 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

r-------------------------.... ---

65 

r IVB shared this with. Alt.hc"I"u,gh it. I S very tempting 

2 to expose him because he's not the person that he 

said he is. 

Q. so, Mr, Kazran, then "Thy have you given 

us the information? Why ha.ve you cooperated with the 

6 FEe by ans ...... ering subpoenas and appearing he!:e at the 

7 deposition? 

A, Two reasons" It! B not about money. The 

9 money part ot: it "las gone a long t.ime ago. r wanted 

10 to make sure my employees are not harmed, and I 

11 wanted t.o make sure tha.t Vern Buchanan has several 

12 times discllssed -- he doesn!t come out and say, rim 

13 going to EJet. you, but he mak.es comment.s. Look, Tim 

14 going to be the governor some day. You want me to be 

15 On your side. 11m the only person that can help you. 

16 ~~nd he's also said J ll.nd you dctn 1 t want to 

1'7 be in lit:i.gation wlt.h me. I knew that_ I would create 

18 an enemy. And just shortly after this, he start.eel to 

19 he sued my wife for this. And that-Is· - and at: 

20 that time 1" decided that, I,ook, I dcm.!t care. about 

21 the money. 11m not doing this to get money out of 

22 him_ I've had several opportunities and I have not. 

23 I'm doing this because it.!s the right. t.hing t.o do. 

24 I I m doing thiE because I want !,(Jr. Buchanan to be seen 

25 as he is and not anything else, so .. , 

1609 Rivt\rpit\C€ Tower 

1301 Rlverpia::e Boule\t.m! 

JackS-OllVi!!e, FL .122.07 

www.esqlJlr~..50lt.tlw\;;.com 

FEC00257 
101

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDEN'I'IAL 

~<~""~. ".::;""" ,0, '0"·:0 ,,:,,:,-i, 2! No.3! \IJ!1.1ch 18 t:t:'ed the 11l:f~davlt of Sam KaZl::6.n, 

drawing your attent.ion to paragraph No. 4. which 

4 ! states: During the course of tense and somewhat 

hostile negotiations between my lawyers and me and 

repl-:er:.:entative.s for Mr. Buchanan, I advised a 

r:epresenta ti ve of MI'. Buchanan tha t one or mOLe of 

the dealerships af which I was Ln operational control 

had reimb1n~sed cel::'tain individua,ls: who had 

10 contributed to the Buchanan for Congress campaign. 

11 Mr.. Kazran, when did the tense and 

12 somewhat hostile negotiations take place? 

13 A. That's an inaccurate statement. I never 

14 had a hostile ... 1 have heen lIve been frustrated! 

15 but J've never been hostile to them. And this 

16 paragraph is far from the truth, Josh Farid serJ.t out 

1? an e--·mai} to John Tosch because he want:ed me and Ve;r.n 

18 Buchanan -- 1u:: wantE~d mE~ t:o tell Vern Bucn,?l.nan to put 

19 this money back in the company. This !,..;as almost 

20 $lOO~OOO, 

21 .~nd I sent out an e-mail to John Tosch 

22 ,.hen he made a comment that, you know, your company 

23 is going to the cookie is going to crumble al1d 

24 we 1 no; go.ing to t.ake it O'J·2Y.' if you don ~ t work wi th 

25 us. P>.nd I sent him an e-mail and I said, yeH,1 kn.C)1;f, 

'--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--.. -... -.--- .....................• _-_ ... 

To!! Flee: 800.322.-

Facs!ml!e: 904.355.61S2 

1609 Rlverp!ace TQI","ef 

13Lll itlVefpfoce BQlJit'::IIi1N 

J.3LKsOrWm{~, fL 32207 

www.esquiresofutions.com 

FEC00258 
102

Sam Kaz:r.-an November 6$ 2009 

CONFIDENTD\L 

57 

re a dirt bag, I! 've done so much for you guys. 

and 11m not even agking for anything other than give 

me back the meney which you~ve taken business which 

4 is going to gc for payroll. That has been t.b,e only 

5 discuBsion. I don't find ~hat to be hostile. 

And he tried to make it sound like he had 

7 nothing to do with this. This is tar trom the tl.-uth. 

Q. When you say he said he l;ldnt.ed :{ t to 

sound like he had nothing ::'0 do with it 

10 A._ That-,rB what 11m taJking about, 

Who are you referring to? 

12 A. Mr. Vern Buchanan. Mr. Vern Buchanan. 

13 He has beer.:. involved all along, Nothing goes on in 

14 that company without his knowledge. 

15 Q. In paragraph 4 it says: advised a 

16 :t;'epresenta::ive of Buchanan t.bat one or more of the 

17 dealerships of which I was in operational control, 

18 had reimbursed certain individuals who had 

19 contributed;::o the Buchanan .for. Congress campaign, 

20 Who is t.he rep:r.e.eentat i ve that you were 

21 referrj.ng to? 

22 A_ I donJt know what he's ta'l.king about. 

23 The only th:lng -- I sent ol.d: ;:;i!1 e-mail to John TosC!h .. 

24 told him that if this money could go towards payroll, 

25 but this this is why I want:ed you folks to grab 

-----. --------------------------------_. 

ESQlIIBJ~ 

ToB Frl:'e; (01),322-

faolmlfB; 904,355.&152. 

1609 Riverpl~ce Tcw",r 

13Gl Rlv.;orpl.,cg Boui~vard 

.laCkSl.Jlwll!e, P'L 32207 

www,c5qu:~C50h.!tlorl::;. _ _:c;m 

FEC00259 
103

Sam Kazran NO".fember 6 I 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL, 

68 

that e-mail because it will clearly show -- this 

2 thing was not something that he knew right then and 

there. This is something that has been ongoing for 

several years. 

Q- Okay. Well, didn!t: mean t.o imply t.hat: 

you wrote this affidavit, You've already told us 

that someone else wrote it. 

A. Correct; yes. 

Q. But this affidavit says that one or more 

10 of the dealerships, At the time that this was 

11 occurring when they were asking you to sign this 

12 dealerships to sign this affidavit., which 

13 dealerships were you operational -- did you have 

J.4 operationE"tl control of? 

15 A. had -- the ones that: Mr. Buchanan and I 

16 \>1ere involved were Premier Dodge/ Kia of Thi!~ i5tvenues. 

17 Kia on Atl anti c. And I had al:..~eady purchased in 

18 20Q8, I had alr.eady finisbed making the payments for 

19 Hyundai of North Jacksonville. 

20 

21 in 

22 

23 

24 

25 

MR. SO'VONICK: What about the dealership 

Georgia? 

THE WITNESS: Gwinnet.t Place 113 Pr.em:i.er 

Dodge, Gwinnett, IJI;Co 

MR, SOIJONICK: That's the cme you had 

operational control ot? 

-----------------------------------------

Toll Free; 800,322.-

far:sklll!e: 904.3S5.6t52 

Hi09 Riverp!z,ce Tower 

13D1 Rlverplace Bou!2vcrd 

JacKsonville, FL 32207 

www.esqu!r<;!S()iutIO:"\$,(;om 

FEC00260 
104

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENT TAL 

69 

1 THE WITNESS: Correct. 

2 BY MR. GOULD: 

Q. Mr. Kazran, going back to the effidaviti 

4 at that. 't,imr:! period did you have a. list of the 

individuals who had cont.ributed. and were reimbursed 

for contributions? 

7 A. The a-mai.l that r sent John Tosch, I !~ent 

him the check said, This is the dollar amounts 

9 that you guys t.ook that Iim supposed to get back. 

10 Remember J this is the campaign money, f"lr:', Buchanan 

11 was supposed to put back the money he took out of the 

12 company. 

13 And r sent out the checks to show him the 

14 money t.hat Vern got. And I can I t remember ' .... hen that 

15 was. And:r don!t remember spec.'!,fically which ones, 

16 but. .. 

Q. 

18 

You Bent: a copy of the .?~ctual checks? 

Correct I the checks that we wrote t.O 

19 Mr. Euchanan1s campaign. And I basically sald l Lodk, 

20 we need this money back in tile company to operate" 

21 Q. And !:hat \Ii'as in an e-roail. an att.achment 

22 to an e-mail? 

23 

24 

25 

A. Yes, that~s correct. 

Q. That you senL t.o Mx:. Tosch? 

A. Correct. This is ,,,,hy I wanted you guys 

ESQQ!.B~ 

roll free: 8UQ.322'-

Facsimile: 904,355,6152 

1609 Riverplace Tower 

1301 Rlverplace: Boulevard 

JacksmwHle, fL 32.207 

www.esqulrE:SOlutiOr1$.com 

FEC00261 
105

Sam Kazran November: 6! 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

70 

to see this 

r4R. SOVONICK: This is the e-mail that; 

you ,;J.J.:re;;'ldy told. \lS th,st: you had saved on the 

computer? 

THE WITNESS: Correct. 

rom.. S0VONICK: At your Kia office? 

THE WITNESS: Cor.rect. 

Q. Drawing your attention back to the 

af f idavit, paragTaph S states: Be EO;~e September 

10 2008, neit.her I nor t.o my kno\llledge an:{ other person 

11 1,<11}o had e',[er advised Buchanan or any of his 

12 representatives had any information that one or both 

13 of the dealerships referred to in paragraph 1 

14 reimhur3ed cert.ain individuals for contributions made 

-:.:;; to the Vernon G. Buchanan for' Con9ress campaign. 

16 Is that a correct statement? 

17 That is a.n absolute lie" M:c Ve,t:Tl 

18 Buchan.an 

19 surprised that theytre putting that in the:rc 1 because 

20 not only he!s had personal talks with me, I've had 

21 Josh Farid haG heard. him I Gail Lephart on the phone 

22 has heard him. All these partners kn.:::w. Fo't' them t.o 

23 put t.his il1 this affida"l,rit, I find that. to be 

24 ridiculous tha.t he says no nne had information, 

25 I would invite you to check my phonE: 

"(011 free: 800,]22._ 

Fac':>imife: 90il.3'55Ji152 

1509 R!yer.;.;~ace Tower 

1301 R!verplar:~ Bou!ev..,;d 

Ja,-;!<wnvf!Je, Fl,32207 

www.~squ(ri!~olt.ctfo:.j(;.com 

FEC00262 
106

Sam Kazran IJ:ovember 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

71 

records. You I J.1 see it! 8 a1.ways congruent wi th the 

dates t.hat they closed the campaign quarter, whatever 

YOll (~all it. Youill see a few days before tha~, ie 

startsl t.he phone calls increase from Mr, Buchanan to 

me. 

O. Mr. Kazran r you. remember you are under 

oath. 

A. Yes, 

Q. Is it your sworn testimony that 

10 l'-1r. Buchanan was aware of these reimbursed 

11 cotltribut.ians? 

12 A. Of course, Absolutely. 

1.3 Q. A.nd please state how he was made aware of 

14 t.he :reimbursed contributions to his campaign. 

15 A. How he was made aware? 

16 Q. Yes, 

l7 A. Well, .e knew it when we were re:Lmbursing 

18 him. As far as th:ls what he says ::Ln the atf:i.davit~, 

19 we never had a hostile the only thing that I did 

20 was send him an e-mail with copies of checks to get 

21 money back. 

22 And other than that, l:le i s had a t.alk with 

23 me after Josh Farid had sent, and he said. Sam, you 

24 know what 11m going through right now. This is not 

25 the kind. of thin9 ! want to do. We'll work this out. 

ESQ1II.B;G 

To!! Free: 800.322_ r;acs!mlle: 904,355.5:3 52 

1609 River'p!.3ce Tower 

1301 River-place Bou!evard 

JacksomrHfe, FL 32207 

www.esqu!re'iolutlollS,{;Orn 

FEC00263 
107

Sam Kazran November. 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

72 

Don't worry about it. I've had numerous discuss10ns 

with him. FDt' him tc CCH"ne a_nd gay that he had no 

knowledge of it is 

MR, SOVONrCK: M:t:, Kazr.an; going back to 

t.h\;: previous t.est: irnony that you! ve made today, 

isntt it true that you were initially approached 

by Mr. Buchanan who instructed you 

THE vlITNESS; EveLY time. 

MR. SOVONICK: -- to reimburse your 

10 employees with the company money and 

11 contribut.e to his campaign? 

12 TBE WITNESS: Right. He said get 

13 somebody you trust, run it through the 

14 corporat,ion. And Josh Farid was present t.here. 

15 But, you know, what I would really like 

16 for yc.:nl folks to do, I'm sure that probably mine 

17 was more because my sto:r.e was m(H·E~ profitable, 

.1 H but. yon guys shcr:..lld go and look at the reSt. of 

19 those dealerships and look at the calnpaign 

contributions, and yau 1 11 find very similar 

21 stories, 

22 Q. tilt' < I{.ar.ran, you. said that YOll had 

2.3 conversat ions wi th !'sir, Buchanan. Have you had an}' 

24 conve:rsGttioIlS with him I'eqi;u:--:iing all the ne't1Jf:I that 

25 had been coming out rE~garding the campaign 

ESQIl.IBg 

Tali free:; 8D0.322_ facsImile: 904.355.6152 

lung R!verp!ace Tower 

no;., Rlverpl~ce Boui<::\laro 

]O!cfisonviiie, FL 32407 i www.esqll!resol:.ltiOfl$.!:om . 

FEC00264 
108

Sam Kazran :Novewber 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

---- 73 

cont.rlbJLJens and reimburs.;:=ments? 

A. The last tim;;, that I talked \dth .him \':0.8 

one convezsatlon after I did not sign this affidavit. 

4 He tolrj me, Sam, you know I'm in this heated race. 

Towards the end he was v;;:1:'y nervous _ 1-1.;:= sa io, r m 

going to help you. live already signed the contract. 

You know all th"se "hings that are going on, all 

these Democrats trying to ruin my name and 

reputation. I've been very good to you, Why do you 

10 want to do this? 

11 And I said, Vern, I've never been a 

12 person that!;; been I told him j I said, You know, 

l3 As much as 1: liked to go to these newspaper companies 

14 or colu!lm:i.stG, riVe never done it. I don l t intend to 

1.5 do so. He was very, very concerned about hifJ name 

16 coming out anymore. 

17 He~ "" - while he was signing this contract I 

18 at about the same time, he filed a lawsuit against 

19 me, which was later dismissed, in Duval County for 

20 one purpose only, and that's to prevent me from ever 

21 filing anything that: would damage his name in 

22 SarasoLa. A.nd latE:r the judge dismissed :l.t and said 

23 

24 

2.5 

venue here is iIl Sarasota. Ycu1ve got to go back 

But. hE:! G ver.y concerned about this. 

11m honestly surprised that he woul.d mak!!:! 

ESQ1LIBJ~ 

1';:)11 Free: S(l{L322_ 

Fec::;lrn!!e: :;104.35$,6157 

1609 Rh{erp!.aco: Tower 

1301 Ri\Onp!Elt:e ~od~va.-d 

ladoC5Df1\t\fle, FL 32207 

r.'Ww.eSI"j\Jire:;ojutiofls,mm 

FEC00265 
109

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONr'IDENTIAL r-------------- ~~:---

1 I 

2

4

-.1 and I den' t knm .. l, I may get myself in t.rouble 

comments as if hets! unawa:r-e of aJ.l this, As 1 said l 

for 

saying this. I was 50 desperate would have signed 

it. hAd i.e not been because of my wife. 

I wanted to save my company, and he saw 

an opportuni ty, someone \JIha' s very despera t e who 

w'Ould do anything. And when this did. not go through, 

h.e became very defensive. 

I know be's attempt.ed to sue me. He's 

10 told me that hels very powerful I and I don!t want to 

11 be a.gainst him. H,::: has partnered up r.-dth Eank of 

1:2 America to t.ake the company away several, several 

13 times. And all along he wants, he wants me to give 

14 him a release and not mention anything. 

1..5 Now/ I have never used this against him. 

16 Not only this is the proof, as much as I~d like to, 

17 as much as he deserves it/ Ilve never gone public 

18 with this information. And I would:n't~ be sitting 

19 talking to you folks -- as you know, I've dane my 

').() best to run away from eve rybody I blJt 11m here because 

21 it: s tirr.e for tJI:r". Buchanan to stog;; threatening 

22 people, 

23 I'm not doing this for money, I'm not 

24 going to go after him for this money or what: I've 

25 already w:cit::en t.ha!: off. And I want to put. on 

------.- ------------------.-. 

TO!! ~:'@;';:: 80Q.322_ 

f'acs!mllf:.': 9Cl4,355_6l52. 

1609 Riverplace Tov,;.:r 

1301 Rh'81';)liltf! BOl!!,lVarrl 

Jackso!'l"aif!, Fe. J:I'2,07 

www.~squkesQlutroF.is.(.:cm 

FEC00266 
110

Sam Kazran NCJ\rember 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

75 

record this is not far money, This is just. 1:.0 come 

out and tell t"he truth. 

And I know t.hat this might create 

4 problems for me" You folks have been very clear t,hat 

this is not a this is not legal. I chose myself 

() not to have an attorney. I chDse t-o provide you-a11 

this info:nuat.lon because it's just time for eveLTbcdy 

to know who Mr:. Buchanan lS. 

And I guarant:ee you i,f you go out and 

10 search t,he et.hers, you'll see so much of this going 

11 an. - don't know if it's of this magnitude, but 

12 yeu' 1] find t.bat everybody IS st,ory :i s more 11 ke me 

),] and not his. 

14 Qo l./jr. Kazran} you 0aid that you had 

15 conversations with Mr. Buchanan regarding these 

16 reimbursed contributions and the affidavit that he 

17 wanted yeu to sign but you didn!t sign. Tell me, 

18 were all these conversations in person? 

19 Ao I: ve :l:lad conversations in person and I ~ ve 

20 llad conversations through the phone. In fact, I 

21 provided you a couple voice mails that he had lett. 

22 me c The first, vo:i.ce mail that he had left was the 

2.3 first time thiSit he had learned a,bout ,Joshls e-mai.l 

24 that expre~H3ed IFJW disappoi.nted he was o( this. And 

25 he popped out of the blue after three months or so of 

loll Frs .. : 800.322_ 

Facs!mlle; 904355,6152 

lGQg P,I'Ieri)!ace Tower 

HOl R:'<I£!'pL'2s€ BauieVdrd 

J<lr:k!>Of:\IWfl, FL 322.07 

WWW.esqll;rBSollltior;s.r.nm 

FECO0267 
111

Sam Kazran November 6, 2Q09 

CONFIDENTIAL 

76 

not speaking to nlf.' and several. disc1.1,s£;ions, Now, ycn!. 

gat one or t.wo ()f those voice mails, but he wanted to 

make very clear that I! m qoing to have serious 

problems if proceed. 

I think in that: voice mai], :Lt: says 

technically you: re the one who I s got problel't;s or 

liabilit.ies or something of that: nature. But. 

simultaneously, hela a politician; he uses his words 

9 very carefu.lly. He wanted to make me go a'..:ay, if you 

10 wilJ .. And he was willing to pay for it too as J.ang 

11 as I signed the affidavit. And after I didn't, he~s 

12 making good on hie threats. 

13 That voice mail was - - the f irl;,t one wag 

14 bedore, thie contract was signed, and then the next 

15 one, I!lt'i not. sn.u:e if' it waE dur.·iIl9 ().r. art.erwa:cds< 

16 But he -- the content of the message was: l;m not 

17 worried about the elec~ion, Jim going to win it 

18 anyway_ You prcbab1.y don't_ know it., but you got. t.he 

19 one WhOIS got problems, but'r:d really like to work 

20 i.t cut. That message was left :In my vote€! ma:l1 lat.e 

21 at night. 

22 If you know Mr. Buchanan, you can have 

23 him listen t:o t.hat~, Anyone that knows him will know 

24 t.hat: voice is not: like ;"1:1;:. Buchanan' G, very nerVOUB. 

25 He's normally very confident, and he carries himself" 

ESQ1H.E~ 

ToU Free: HiJO.3n_ 

Facslrnl!~: 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverp!;K€ Tower 

1301 fUverplace f.k!uieverd 

)a("k~on\ii~~e, FL 32":?07 

WWW.~!:.qiliresoiuttons.com 

FEC0026B 
112

Sam Kazran 

CONFIDEl'ITIAL 

November ~ 

----------------------------------------------

77 

very wel L, so .. , 

Q. You said tha.t the voice rneSEW.ge wa.F.i left 

on your phone? 

A. Correct. 

Q. What phone is that? 

A. r had a .-- I had an Apple phone and a 

palm pilot. And after he left the message, I had 

transferre.d it to my Apple phone and thEm afte.r that 

I downloaded all that in my compl..l.t.er and voice 

10 recorder 

Q. Take me through t.ne steps that you did. 

12 You had a voice message on your phone? 

13 A. Correct. 

14 Q. P~nd how did you get that message to the 

1.5 voice recorder? 

16 A. Okay, had the phone play. In other 

17 words: I had the two phones right next t:o sa.ell other i 

1S and T turnEd one on and the E!pi~akerphone on one and 

19 just put it On the other one and let Jt record, 

20 MR. SOVONICK: You used a recording 

21 function 011 t.he other phone? 

22 THE WITNESS: Correct, correct. I'm not 

23 very savvy with those electronics. 

24 Okay. A.nd then what did you do with the 

2.5 I;eco:cding on the second phone? 

Toli FrEle: 800.322_ 

Facsim!fe: 904.355.6152 

1609 RivE:rjJ!ace Tower 1301 R!Vt';piace Bouj~ve[d 

.lilcksorwllle, FL. 32207 

www.esquiresolwtioIl5.com 

FEC00269 
113

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAII 

78 

A. Okay. I put that -- l mean, I asked my 

a8E1ist~ant: t:o download -- stJe per.":i.od:tcaJly downloads 

all my information from my phone onto my computer 

And with Apple phone, all you have te:· do i.~ synch it. 

and i.t dumps everything in there < P>.nd t.hat was 

the voice mail, that's another reason yeu folks want 

7 my computer:, that. was on the old phone. It was 

tr&nsre:rred from the old phone. You :r~ave some static 

and all that. think while I was recording it 

10 somebody called me and it had all that. 

11 Q. Mr. Kazran, pursuant to the subpoena for 

12 records that the Commission issued to you on or about 

13 August 18 1 2009 1 you provided to the FEe a digital 

14 voice recorder. We haye that with US f and I want to 

15 ask you just to make sure, is this the original is 

J.6 l:hi.s the digital voice recorder that you provided to 

17 Mr SQvonick and myself? 

A. COl:reet. 

Q. Okay. 

20 A. It a160 has somc:! of my personal 

:';.1. recordings on t.here as well, 

22 Q. We don't want to know anything about: the 

23 personal recordin~Js 

24 l1.. I understand. 

25 Q. Mr. Kazran, since this is your digital 

ESQQIBJ~ 

Toll Free: 800.322_ 

Fa,---s!rnl!e: 904.355.6152 

1609 R!'!.If;',p!at:e Tower 

13Ql R.!verp;;;;c1::: E:oQuiev.ard 

J;";;lcl-;sony:!I-e, ~!.. 32207 

www.e!;.1l1irl.!f.clutions.mm 

FEC00270 
114

8am Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

79 

1 voice recorder, can you play for us the voice 

messages that Mr. Buchanan left on your phone. 

A. Correct. Sure. 

Mr, Kazr.an, can you please operate this 

5 voice dj.gital device so that we can hear the voice 

6 message that~ tvlr. Buchanan left on your phone. 

7 A. Sure. 

Q. Mr. Kazran, you said you had two 

9 recordings of that conversation? 

10 Correct. 

11 Q. One that had a lot of static on it7 

12 A. cor:r:ect. 

13 Q. would YOll play for us the one --

14 A. Yes. t'lhen I was recording i,t i' somebody 

15 called me and it had that static. 

16 Then what did you do? 

17 A, I just rerecorded it, and there was no 

18 one calling me so it's a bit more clear. 

19 

20 

21 

22 

25 

(playing recording: !!Sam, vern. Sorry I 

didn't get your message, but l Sam~ M:i.ke Lindell 

told me the other day that you1re going to aue 

us or threatening to sue us. All that we're 

t,rying to do is in the event you go through 

chapter 11 or unfortwlatelYI hopefully not, but 

if something happens, we sell the store, they!re 

ESQ~IIR~ 

Tol! Free: 800,)2.2_ 

FacslmUe: 904-,355,6152 

1609 Rlve,-pl.::ice Tower 

130 i. Rtveroiace B!)u!evard 

JacksorwWe, FI. 32207 

www.esqul~$o!!Jtion5<.com 

FEC00271 
115

4 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

80 

recommending to protect our interests. And I 

want to resolve it, work it out. 

"I can't put -- I put twa and a half 

million in cash -- nobody has done that for you 

ever this year in the business. I trust that 

you that everyt.hing is going to be great. 

"And the bottom line, I understand people 

have problems , have challenges but, you know/ 

this should be something we should be able to 

work out. We're willing to save what we got and 

work with you. But I think the threatening of 

the political stuff and all that! you got raore 

liability than you know if you start telling 

people that you reimbursed people, because 

technically you have that liability. 

told you, and I've always made it 

clear is t.hat you can't reimburse people. 

They!ve got to give it under thei.r free will. 

YOlJ know that. At 12, 18 potntsl we're going to 

win the election anyway_ 

IISut the bottom line is I think live been 

your best friend l best asset. I heard the other 

day too that the banks were not shipping cars to 

Kia l and so that Y'umor is cut there. And again, 

wejre just trying to protect our j.nterest and do 

---_._._----------------------

roll Free 800.322_ 

Facsimile' 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverp!ace Tower 

1301 Rlverp!elce Boulevard 

JacksorlVi!!e, Fl 32207 

www.eSQulresolutlons.com 

FEC00272 
116

2 

3 

4 

7 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

]6 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Sam Kazran NOVeITlber 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

Get. a good J.avJyer and get wha t you want 1 bu.t get 

a good lawyer in Tampa, r"like is a very 

honorable person! l'41ke Lindell. And let. us sit 

down and work together and work this out " ..... here 

it r S in everybody's best. .1.nterest. 

"Ilve been through situations and 

lawsuits before, for 30 years being in business i 

and I can tell you at the end of the day the 

only ones that win 18 tile lawyers. 

~ASO again/ nothing personal. You know t J. 

feel bad that it's come to this, but the lawyer, 

Mike Lindell could not recommend to John. Tesch 

me putting in two million unsecured on the first 

deal with you on a signature and put another two 

rnLll ion in in a couple three days wi thout 

k.nowing t.he extent of the whole eXp051..U;e < 

Nobody in their right mind would do t.hat, you 

know , would look at it! a bank, and not know 

that you put two million in t~here and somehow 

once it gets in bankruptcy and we~re back in the 

s;::;.me position we~re in right now. 

We:ve had a 

...... _ ....... _ ...... _._-------_. 

TO!! Free: 800,322_ 

Facs:f!1\!e: 904,355.61S2. 

1609 R~v8,pj;:!(fl Tuwer 

1301 R!verpl.ac~ Boulev"a,d 

Ji:9cksonv:!!e, FL 32207 

www.esqulreso!ut!ons.com 

FEC00273 
117

4 

5 

7 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

Sam Kazran November 6 t 2009 

i 

I 

L 

CONFIDENTIAL 

82 

great relationship. I never give people money, 

like I gave you two and a halt million 

unsecured. r did that based on your reputation, 

based on the relationship. WeJve had a 

successful relationship in the past. 

"I feel bad, I really do! in terms of us 

having to protect our interests, but agairl, we 

can stay that, Nonissue. I think it ~ s 

important that. we sit down and work together and 

work this out, Give me a buzz" Thanks. ~~ 

Q. Mr. Kazran, ycuJve said that this is a 

voice message from Mr.. Vernon Buchana,n. How do you 

know itrs his voice? 

A. I fm very familiar w:Lth Mr. Vern 

Buchanan's voice. Plus at the beginning of the voice 

mail he says! Sam, it's Vern. But anyone that knows 

Mr. Buchanan will tell you that's his voice. lim 

confident thatts him. 

llnd he had left that voice mail because I 

was incredibly fru,strated. While we were negotiating 

this contract, to trick me and protect himself, he 

committed that W(~ would go through with this deal, 

but then he filed a suit in J'acksonville. J"\nd he 

called right back after that and says: Oh l donjt 

worry about that. Thatls just. to protect ourselves. 

Tot! free: 800,322_ 

Fac.5fm!~e: 904.355.6152 

1609 Rlverplace Tower 

1301 Rlverplace Boulevard 

Jack,>onvlHe, FL 32207 

www.esC!u!resolutions.com 

FEC00274 
118

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

83 

Because he knew that I may go and sue him in 

Sarasot.a. 

Q. His home turf? 

4 A. That~s correct. So while he was working 

on ttd.s t he fi.les a suit in Duval Count.y, which later 

the judge threw it out, to prevent me from going 

7 there. He jUBt~ wanted to let me know ( Don it worry 

about. it. It's just a technicality, and we!re just 

protecting ourselves. 

10 But I was very frust.rated about that { 

11 because he acted in bad faith, eo, .. 

12 Anyway, IJd like to play the second one 

13 for you if you like. 

J4 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

Q. Yes, please. 

(Playing recording: !ISam , it's Vern. 

I'm just caJ.ling t.O see how you made out with 

the bankers and the lawyers after I didn!t 

hear anything. Again, I hope that we can work 

something out. I do believe there's a 

rest.ructure that. makes sense foy everybody. 

That's the best path to take. Again; lIve done 

that before in these situations. 

Illf you decide to go the other way, r 

hope that, you know, we talk about paying back 

and that gets off on a lot of tangents because 

ToU Free~ SQIi.322_ 

Facslmlle: 904.355.6152. 

1609 Riv€fp!ace Tower 

1301 rUverplace Boulevard 

Jad.:s:onv!!le, FL J2207 

www.esqufresoiutlons.com 

FEC00275 
119

Sam Kazran November 6( 2009 

2 

4 

7 i 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

CONFIDENTIAL 

84 

that will only make it worse far everybody. 

And, you know , I donlt see how that helps you 

long-term. But again~ hope we can restructure 

it: and it will preserve your reputation there 

in Jacksonville. 

!lyou don t t want to go through two years 

of litigation. (Inaudible) So, you know: just 

make sure you get good advice, people that donlt 

have an ax to grind, and you get good lawyers. 

1l ... ,'.lybody that's got any sense# any lawyer is 

going to tell you get a restructuring done, 

get this recapitalized. 

~Like I said, if I can find a way to 

help secure this, lim willing to work with you. 

But again, we get down the road and things start 

to get, you know, personal and nasty, then I'm 

out. 

1150 give me a holler. 1 1 m still hoping 

we ca.n get something done. Give me a buzz 

when you get this. Bye-bye, II 

A. He was -,~ so that one was 'While we were 

22 negotiating. sal you know, he tells me we1re going 

23 to "",'ork somet.hing out. He files suit. I get upset 

24 at him, and I Bend an a-mail to John Tosch. Then he 

25 calls back l and he says: Look, donbt worry about it . 

ESQ1IIB~ 

. __ ._ .. _ .. _ .. _ .. -----' 

To!! FreE:!: 800.322_ 

Facsimile: 904,355,6152; 

1609 Rlvefplllce Tower 

1301 R!vl2rplace Boulevard 

Jackson"me, FL 32207 

www.€$>Qutreso!utlons.com 

FEC00276 
120

Sam Kazran November 6, 

CONFIDENTIAL 

95 

1 WeIll do this. 

2 But before and after that OD several 

3 other occasions I he!s made it very clear that lim 

1'::1: going t.o have consequences" But, you know. he 

5 contradicts himself, because Ilve never gone to the 

6 newspapers, all that. I've never used this against 

7 him. I've never -- all I've asked him to do is put 

back the money that he took out of our: bank account. 

He!s very, very nervous in there; and he 

10 keeps saying Illl work it out, 1111 work it out, but 

11 the whole intent of him was tor me to gi.ve him some 

12 Bort of an affidavit like he typed so that he can go 

1.3 through election. 

14 Now; i.t I 9 important that you know that he 

15 got what he wanted without me taking any actions. He 

16 did not have to make good on his contract, and I did 

17 not expose him. So he turned out to be a happy man, 

IS because I did not hold him accountable to the 

19 contract that be signed, nor did I make his 

20 information public. 

21 And I tell you, it 1 s very tempting l it!s 

22 -- a person like that l he~s just. not a nice person. 

23 And my attorney said, you know, Sam; sometimes people 

24 like that deserve to get hurt, but you1re just not 

25 the type of perGon and you shouldn J t get; involved 

ESQ1!IB~ 

ToU Free: 800.322_ 

Facsimile" 904.355.6152 

L609 R!verplace Tower 

.t 301 R!verp!ace Boulevard 

].u:ksoi"l\}me, FL 32207 

www.e~qu!resolutlQns.cQm 

FEC00277 
121

1 

2 

4 

5 

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDEN'rIAL 

with this. And I took the,:6 adViC~ - - ~~e- ~~s-t - of "It l, was the loss of my company, but It is what it lSi 

guess. 

BY MR. SOVONICK: 

Q. Mr. Kazran i I just had a couple of 

6 follow-up questions about. ,Tosh. When he sent that 

7 e-mail, who specifically did he send it to? 

8 A. He sent. it to me and to John Tosch. He 

9 was frustrated at me because, you know, while we're 

10 going through this~ 1 told him that! look, Vern has 

11 told me he's going to give thi.s money back; we1re 

12 going to take care of it. I got a second mort.gage on 

13 my home. He had gone and gotten a mortgage on his 

14 home. 

15 -'>end John Tosch came out to him and said, 

16 What you need to do is file bank.ruptcy and sign over 

17 the company to us, and we're not going to give you 

18 anything. Pond he, Josh, became very frustrated at. 

19 this. And he was mad at me and them. And that's why 

20 it prompted that! John Tosch and me. So t.hat1s 

2l where the original ... 

22 Q. Had he told you h(~ was going to send that 

23 e-mail bef.ore he sent it? 

24 A. No, I had no knowledge of it. 

25 Q. Okay. .. _ .. _ .. _ .. ___ .. _. __ ._______ . __________ -..l 

Toll Free; 800.321.-

Facsimile: 904,]55.6152. 

1609 Riverplace Tower 

1301 Rlverplace Boulevard 

Jacksomril!e, Fl322,07 

www.esqulreso!utians.c.om 

FEC00278 
122

1 

2 

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

,.----------------------------------_._ .. _-, 

87 

1L In fact ~ I sent an e-mail to ,John Tosch 

now I remember ~ t- ~c , and I said, Ifm sorry, John, I 

really d:i.dnit have anything to do with this. 'l'hat!s 

4 why I wanted you to have my computer. Youlll see 

that, you know, up to the last point when I sal,</ him 

sue my wife! and then I said , Forget about. the maney, 

'"I I!m going to go public with this; but I still didnft 

do that. 

But up until then all I wanted to do is 

10 save my company, and he took advantage of t.hat t so ... 

11 BY MR. GOULD: 

12 Q- Mr. Kazran, you\ve played for us the 

13 message from your digital voice recorder, a voice 

14 message that t.JJr, Buchanan left on your cell phone, 

15 A. Correct. 

J.6 Q. And prior to that voice message in which 

17 Mr. BU.chanan is saying that you have liability for 

lB all this, had Mr. Buchanan ever told you that what he 

19 told you to do, namely to reimburse your employees 

20 for their contribut.ions t,o his campaign by running it 

21 through the companYj did he ever tell you that was 

22 illegal? 

23 A. NO, sir. Absolutely not. Up to the 

24 point where this affidavit came where he became 

.25 defensive and he wanted to force me into signi.ng it, 

Toll Flee; 800.322'-

Facslm!le; 904.355,6152 

1609 Rlvl2rplar.:e Tow€f' 

1301 R!verp!ace BouleVdf'd 

JacksonvHle, FL 32207 

www.esqu!rcsolutto!1s.com 

FEC00279 
123

Sam Kazran November 6, 2009 

CONFIDENTIAL 

4 look bet ter by having lots of supporters. I mean I if 

5 I knew that this was -- there!s a law against this, I 

6 wouldn! t. - -. I would not Ifm a law-abiding citizerl. 

7 I would not break the la\tJ' I especially something as 

8 serious as this. 

9 You know! Mr, Vern Buchanan was my' senior 

10 partner, and I just did what he told me. But had he 

11 told me, HeYI this ia illegal and you1re going to get 

12 in trouble! of course I "lOuld not get involved .in 

13 this. 

14 Q. Okay, Thank you, Mr, Kazran. Appr.eciate 

15 your cooperation sitting for this deposition, 

16 prov1ding us material documents -- we].l, things that 

1.7 we had subpoenaed. But. I appreCiate your 

18 cooperation. And have a good day, sir 

19 A. And thank you for having me and thanks 

20 for your patience in working with all the documents. 

21 Thank you. 

22! (The deposition was concluded at 2:07 p.m.) 

23 

24 

25 L-..... _________ .. ________ _ 

Tol! Free: 800.322,_ 

F.acslmlie: 904.355.6152 

1609 RI\'erpiace Tower 

1301 Rlveroiace BoulelJard 

Jacksorndlle, FL 32207 

www,e&qulresoliJtlons.cDm 

FEC00280 
124

EXHIBIT 4 
125

TO Stephanie COMPANY: 

&I0U01t: Seq~ence Number: 389201B15C 

AccQ'.;,.nt: Capture Date,; 12/28/2007 

Bar-.k N-umbljr: Check N~mber; 35421 

tmlNOAI Of NORnI JACKSOIMU. .. CHECI!II a542! , 

IIS3N.IMWlTfIIi£T JACKSOIMLLE, MRIIlII3ZI11f 9I).j·35o!-I:Il24 

PAY "NIWE THOU5AND 11«) HUNDaED DOLL.ARS AND 00/100" 

DATE 

1111107 

35421 

~: ~~M.~~ - ~.:j 

..... 111 

11In=K= ~~ __ ~ ;;a.;.,.~:. 

_~~J_N;_KB.ON.VI._~._ •. _FI..au.1.8_._._ •• _. ~.-'-.-.-.-.~?iI~.==.~~ ___ :1 

TO THE 

CRDIi~ 

OF 

Electronic Er.dor:sements 

Cate Seql.<sr:ce 

12128/2007 0091631334 

12/28/2007 0091631334 

1<128/2007 003892018150 

-.--

Bank 'If 

\ t-- -1 12128120~ '1'1\ ,; 

2UZ.. \ 

0114 \ . 

BOFD 8ar.k Name 

Vnl!AR C:r 

SOV'!'HWES7 CORroRA'I'E 

BANK OF AMER:CA, NA 

SK_0002 

11-7565_0106 
126

Checklmage Page 1 of1 

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SK_0004 

11-7565_0108 
128

TO:Stephanie COMPANY: 

AmOl.i.nt: $8 r 4CC.CO 

Accour.t: 

Ba:1k Number: ... 

10 THE 

ORDER 

OF 

; ; 

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,i,'! " 

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HYUNDAI OF NORTH JACKSONVILL.E .. N. MAON ,mEET ~1'I.oRIlI.1IIIII 

1IU-~1224 

Sequer,ce Ni.:mbe!': 654023371C 

Captl;.re Date: 11/:30/20C5 

Chilck NUr.l.ber: 20514 

I!R'e \ 1 AMO\JI!l 

11.. 1I.4GD.OO 

~ 

SK_0005 

11-7565_0109 
129

TO Stephanie COMPANY: 

l\mO"c.t: ~B, 511. 00 

Account: 

Bink Number: ... 

HYUNDAI OF NORTH JACKSONVILLE 

10TH. 

_".IIMINITRiET 

IN;I\Sa<VIU.E. FLORIO. 32!OG 104-354-1224 

Seque::ce N'Jmbs!': 

Capture c.t.; 

C:;;eck N''''r.\bfiir; 

6540C156C5 

06/3C/2006 

24502 

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SK_0006 

11-7565_0110 
130

TO:Stephanie COMPANY: 

.n..:r.QU:1t: 

Acco"..;nt: 

Ba;:.k N .... rnher I 

HlUNDA! OF NORTIi JACKSONV1U.E _N._1IlIIIIEr JAC_ll.flUJl!Ql.lI2lOe 

SIq'.lenoe N'.,;.mber: 574C786469 

Capture Cater 06/2912006 

Check N·;rnber~ 245Cl 

... _,.,. I ~ 

PAY tt£lGl!T THOUSAND FIVE MIINDIlED ELEVEN DeMARS ANO 00/100 •• .at 

roTH! 

ORDER 

OF JOIEPII CUTAIA 

., .... 

.... 

." 

Il> 

i~C] 

GI/2IlI06 

SK_0007 

11-7565_0111 
131

TO:5tephanie COMPANY: 

Amo-.;,::.t: 

Accour.t: 

Bar:Jc Nur.tber: 

HYl/NQAI OF NORTH JACKSONVillE 

~FLIlI\IIlo\ 

-",-~ _ _ 1'" 

Seq.:..r;.!;oIj N~r.ltll:.~: 

Capt'J.:e Date; 

Check Nur.lbeI: 

PAY '·E%GIIT TIIOUSAND FOU\I HUMIAED IIOU.MS AND 00/100'· 

TOTHE 

OROER 

Of 

6540324618 

11130/2005 

2C515 

11_ IW'E I I AMOUNT 

SK_0008 

11-7565_0112 
132

L./UUI 

TO:Stephanie COMPANY: 

AD01.Ont: 

Acoo·";':1.t: 

Seq .... ence N"-.1.r.Lber; 

Capt'Jre Date: 

Bank N~m.ber ~ iii C:-;.eck Number I 

HYUNDAI OF NORTH JACKSONVILLE 

IISIiIN.lIIftIllJll;ET 

JACK8ONVI1.I.!. FlOAIDA ae ....... , ... PAY .WNINE THOUSAND lWO HUNDRED DOLL~RS AND 00/100·' 

1O"T1i! 

I ORDER 

,OF 

I 

GAYLE LEPHART 

~-.---------.---~---

, L-=-:---<:~-! 

-

ElectrQnic Endor.sements 

Date Sequence 

. 02~:2 WI:798 Ca",pcu .. ~ .r..,J-,· . f~~;f/8~W!">c:.~cii j ~6( . 

Sonk # SOFD Bank Name 

4192B5816~ 

01/02/200B 

3542C 

01/C2/200B 004192858163 _N BANK OF A.~ERICA, NA 

,-_ .. --~ 

35420· 

AMOUNT II 

$,.IGO,OO 

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I 

SK_0009 

11-7565_0113 
133

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https:!/online.compassweb.comJcpclservlet/compassonline/checkimage-front.jsp?tranlD=08... 9/5/2008 

SK_0010 

11-7565_0114 
134

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VIEW CHECK IMAGE Z-oorrt 01Jt zoom tn Prin\$CI'IIen send Us a Message 

https:llonline.compassweb.comlcpc!servlet/compassonline/checldmage-back.jsp 9/512008 

SK_0011 

11-7565_0115 
135

EXHIBIT 5 
136

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofR. Res. 895 as Amended 

TNRE: 

REVTEWNO. 

DATE 

LOCATION 

TIME: 

PARTICIPANTS 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 

UNITED ST ATES HOUSE OF REPRESENT A TIVES 

MEMORANDUM OF INTERVIEW 

Hyundai of North Jacksonville Comptroller 

11-7565 

December 9, 20 II 

225 East Coastline Drive 

Jacksonville, FL 32202 

10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. (approximate) 

Kedric L. Payne 

Omar S Ashmawy 

SUMMARY: The witness is a former employee of several of Representative Vern Buchanan's 

auto dealerships. The OCE requested an interview with the witness and she consented. The 

witness made the following statements in response to our questioning: 

1. The witness was given an 18 U.s.c. § 1001 warning and consented to an interview. The 

witness signed a written acknowledgement of the warning prior to the interview, which 

will be placed in the case file in this review. 

2. The witness is currently employed as a payroll practitioner at Jacksonville Electric 

Authority. She has been employed there since January 2, 2011. 

3. The first automobile dealership that she worked for that was affiliated with 

Representative Buchanan was M & L Motors She worked as an accountant for the 

dealership from approximately 1995 to 2002. 

4. From 2002 to 2004, she worked as the office manager for Buchanan Jenkins Hyundai. 

5. In 2004, Sam Kazran became an owner of Buchanan Jenkins Hyundai and it became 

Hyundai North Jacksonville ("HNr). The witness worked there was comptroller until 

HNJ closed. 

6. Her duties as comptroller included responsibility over the company's bank records, 

weekly payroll, and insurance. She also prepared the company's financial statements 

which included records of all income and expenses. 

7. After she prepared the monthly financial statements, Dennis Slater and Sam Kazran 

reviewed the records. 

8. The witness reported directly to Mr. Kazran. She managed employees who reported to 

her, including Jill Oaks, Stephanie Champs, and Jan Martin. 

9. The witness told the OCE that the financial statements for HNJ were ultimately given to 

Representative Buchanan. It is her understanding the Representative Buchanan reviewed 

MOI- Page 1 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
137

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofR. Res. 895 as Amended 

the financial statements with Mr. Kazran. Her understanding is based on Mr. Kazran's 

conversations with her at the time. 

10. The witness never met Representative Buchanan. 

11. The witness told the OCE that she contributed to Representative Buchanan's campaign 

around 2005 and 2008 

12. Mr. Kazran told her to make the contributions. 

13. She described the first contribution. She told the OCE that Mr. Kazran was at HNJ on 

the phone with Representative Buchanan 

14. Mr Kazran said, "Vern, I'll handle it right now." 

15. Mr. Kazran then told her to write a personal check to Representative Buchanan's 

campaign Then she was to write a check to herself from the company and "gross it up". 

This meant that she was to make the check from the company large enough to cover taxes 

such that after taxes it was enough 

16. The witness said that at the time she did not know that the transaction was illegal 

17. She described the second time that she made a contribution to the campaign. 

18. When Mr. Kazran asked her to make the second contribution she said she screamed at 

him and said that the company could not afford to make the contribution at the time. 

19. She said that she contributed because she had the feeling that her employment could be 

terminated if she did not. She felt as though Representative Buchanan had the ability to 

tell Mr Kazran to terminate an employee because he was the majority owner of the 

company. 

20. The witness told the OCE that other HNJ employees made contributions to 

Representati ve Buchanan's campaign 

21. Mr. Kazran told her who contributed and the witness wrote checks from HNJ to 

reimburse the employees. 

22. The witness recalls that Stephanie Champ contributed to the campaign, but Diana from 

Representative Buchanan's campaign committee returned the check to Ms. Champ. The 

witness did not know Diana's last name, but she recalled that Diana assisted 

Representative Buchanan's campaign. 

23. The witness told the OCE that the check was returned because Ms. Champ was not 

married. 

24. However, Ms. Champ had already received the reimbursement from HNJ. As a result, 

another HNJ employee, Joe Cutaia, made the contribution to the campaign. In return, Ms. 

Champ wrote a check to Mr. Cutaia to reimburse him for the contribution for which she 

had already received a reimbursement. 

MOI- Page 2 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
138

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofR. Res. 895 as Amended 

25. The witness told the OCE that the payments were listed in HNJ's financial statements as 

salary. 

26. She does not recall any specific designation for the payments other than salary. 

27. She told the OCE that Representative Buchanan had to be aware of the reimbursements 

because the salary entries for individuals were higher during certain months than others. 

28. She also stated that Dennis Slater would have known about the reimbursements. 

29. The witness said that during the summer of2010 the Federal Election Commission 

("FEC") contacted her and asked about what happened with the contributions to 

Representative Buchanan's campaign from HNJ employees. 

30. The FEC then asked her to write a statement, which she sent to FEe. 

31. She has not been deposed by anyone concerning this matter. 

32. When asked how Mr Kazran received reimbursement for campaign contributions, the 

witness stated that she does not believe that he was reimbursed through salary. 

33. She believes that he may have been reimbursed through partnership distribution. She 

explained that as partners, Buchanan had to receive 51% of any distribution Any such 

distribution to Mr Kazran had to be approved by Dennis Slater. 

This memorandum was prepared on January 3, 2012, based on the notes that the OCE staff 

prepared during the interview with the witness on December 9,20 II. T certify that this 

memorandum contains all pertinent matter discussed with the witness on December 9,20 II. 

Kedric L. Payne 

Deputy Chief Counsel 

MOI- Page 3 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
139

EXHIBIT 6 
140

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofH. Res. 895 as Amended 

IN RE 

REVIEW NO. 

DATE 

LOCATION 

TIME: 

PARTICIPANTS 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 

UNlTED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MEMORANDUM OF INTERVIEW 

Hyundai of North Jacksonville CFO 

11-7565 

December 5, 20 I I 

225 East Coastline Drive 

Jacksonville, FL 32202 

7: 10 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (approximate) 

Omar S Ashmawy 

Kedric L. Payne 

SUMMARY: The witness is the former Chief Financial Officer of an automobile dealership affIliated 

with Representative Buchanan. The OCE requested an interview with the witness and he consented to 

an interview. The witness made the following statements in response to our questioning 

I. The witness was given an 18 USc. § 100 I warning and consented to an interview. The witness 

signed a written acknowledgement of the warning, which will be placed in the case file in this 

review. 

2. The witness is currently the managing director of U.S. Outfitters, LLC. He has held that position 

since 2007. Prior to this position, the witness was the Chief Financial Officer for Honda of 

North Jacksonville ("HNJ"). This was the only Representative Buchanan affIliated entity with 

which he was involved. 

3. He initially joined HNJ because of his background in construction. There were plans to buildout HNJ and some other projects. Sam Kazran asked the witness to come work with him to help 

out with the building. Sam Kazran has been the witness's brother in law since 1998. The 

witness was involved in the construction, planning the interiors, and purchasing furniture. The 

title of Chief Financial Officer was a "title that was bestowed" on the witness. 

4. The witness mainly reported to Mr. Kazran. Regarding his duties, the witness said that the more 

involved in the construction side of his work, the less he was involved in the financial side. The 

dealership's finances were not his day to day work. Each dealership had its own comptroller 

who did the day-to-day financial management The witness was involved in the banking side 

because the dealership had to put together "packages" for the construction projects. 

5. The witness left H'.J in 2008 because Bank of America audited the dealership and determined 

they had defaulted on the loan. The bank shutdown the business. 

6. At the end of each month, the witness reviewed H'\J's financial statements with Mr. Kazran and 

Ms. Gayle Lephart, the comptroller for H'\fJ. The statements contained sales tigures, expenses, 

and other data on the incomes and expenses of the dealership. 

MOI- Page 1 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
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CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofH. Res. 895 as Amended 

7. Dealership expenses included salaries and bonuses for employees, rent, other compensation, etc 

Ms. Lephart and the witness would review the statements to see if they were "in or out ofline." 

8. The witness knew Representative Buchanan. He tirst met Representative Buchanan in 2004 

when Mr. Kazran bought into a dealership with Representative Buchanan. The witness also met 

Representative Buchanan a couple oftimes at a partners' meeting and at a fundraiser in Sarasota, 

FL that was attended by Vice President Dick Cheney The witness thought the fundraising event 

was in 2006. 

9. The partners' meetings were held on a regular basis. All of the partners of the automobile 

dealerships Representative Buchanan owned would meet. They would review all the sales 

figures and report on each dealership, including the numbers of vehicles sold, whether they were 

new or used, and other categories of sales. 

10. The witness only attended two of the partners' meetings. On each occasion it was because Mr. 

Kazran asked him to attend. Mr. Kazran was the person who attended all the meetings. 

11. At the first partners' meeting that the witness attended, the witness was walking to 

Representati ve Buchanan's onice with Mr. Kazran, John Tosh, and Representati ve Buchanan. 

Representative Buchanan said that he needed help with getting money for his campaign 

12. Prior to this occasion, the witness was with Me Kazran at the HNJ location. They were in the 

sales tower and were walking from the sales tower towards their onice Mr. Kazran was on the 

phone with Representative Buchanan. He knew this because Me Kazran put the phone to the 

witness' ear while Representative Buchanan was speaking so that the witness could hear what 

was being said. The witness heard Representative Buchanan say that "they could get the 

managers to contribute to the campaign and the dealership would reimburse them." 

13. This happened on two occasions. The witness did not recall the second occasion as clearly, 

however he remembered that he was at the HNJ location with Mr. Kazran and that they were also 

walking from one place to another. He recalled that Representative Buchanan told Mr. Kazran to 

"reimburse" people who gave contributions to his campaign. 

14. The witness made contributions to Representative Buchanan's campaign and was reimbursed for 

them. Mr. Kazran told the witness he would be reimbursed. The witness' understanding of 

Representative Buchanan's role in the reimbursement process was that Representative Buchanan 

directed it. When asked why he had that understanding, the witness said that it was because 

Representative Buchanan told Mr. Kazran to do it and because of Representative Buchanan 

mentioned that he needed help at the partners' meeting. 

15. The witness did not recall how the reimbursements were categorized in the financial statements 

that he reviewed with Ms. Lephart at the end of each month. They may have been categorized as 

"bonus." The witness also stated that at the point in time when reimbursements were being made 

he was not involved in the financial side of the business - he got involved a little later, in the 

latter part 01'2006. Before he got involved, the financial side was managed by Mr. Kazran and 

Ms. Lephard. However, the witness knew the reimbursements were taking place because he was 

privy to the conversations. 

MOI- Page 2 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
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CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofH. Res. 895 as Amended 

16. When asked about the affidavit that Representative Buchanan asked Mr Kazran to sign, the 

witness said that he learned about it the day it was presented to Mr. Kazran. Mr. Kazran called 

the witness when he received it and emailed it to the witness. The content of the affidavit is 

nothing but a cover-up by Representative Buchanan. Representative Buchanan offered Mr. 

Kazran the affidavit while a deal that Mr Kazran needed was pending. 

17. The witness also referred to an email he sent to John Tosh. The email was written "well before" 

the affidavit was presented to Mr. Kazran. 

18. The witness told the OCE that the email concerned the money taken out of the operating fund of 

the company for the campaign contributions that were reimbursed. 

19. The witness was then shown an AUb'llst 5, 2011 newspaper article from the Florida Independent, 

titled "More Former Buchanan Employees Speak Out about Pressure to Donate, Reimbursement 

Scheme." He was asked if the quotes attributed to him in the article were accurate and true. The 

witness said yes. 

20. The witness never worked on Representative Buchanan's campaign or communicated directly 

with Representative Buchanan. 

This memorandum was prepared on January 5, 2012 after the interview was conducted on December 5, 

20 II. T certify that this memorandum contains all pertinent matter discussed with the witness on 

December 5, 20 I I 

Omar S. Ashmawy 

StatT Director and Chief Counsel 

MOI- Page 3 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
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EXHIBIT 7 
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• 

fEDERALELECrION COMMISSION • • WaahiDgtcm, DC 20463 

Via PmOllll Service 

SamKaznm 

IS31 Haariqton Park Drive 

JaebonviHe, PL 32225 

Dear Mr. Kazran: 

September 28, 2010 

Re: MUR60S4 

SamKazran 

11-2001 LLC dIbIa 

Hyundai afNorih 

Jacksonville 

On September 21, 2010, the Fedenl BlccIion Commission found !bat thm is 

probable CIIIIIIe to believe !bat you and 11-2001 ILC d/b/a Hyundai of North Jacksonville 

(,'HNJ"), violated 2 U.S.C. § 441(, and tbatHNJ violatecl2 U.S.C. § 441I(a), proviJioDs 

of the Federal E1eaticm Campaign Ad of 1971, as ameDded, in CODDeCtiao with 

coBlrilllllioas to Vem BudlaDan for Coogrea tbat were reimbursed usiD& HN1 fimds. 

The OlrlllllliiD. _ a duty tooBllmlpt to correct Ita:h viCIIIIIIDJIII b a,m.:ni or.! 

least 30 days SlId DO maDI Ibm 96 cmys by infeImitl metbods oe COJIfinace, EOIIIIiIiaIioa, 

and pcnuasioa, and by ClItcIiD& into a coociliatiao BgICCIIlCIll with a rapondeot. Ifwe 

are Ulllble to Ieal:lwn ~.aftcr 30 days, tile 00mmiIti0u may:iosiiUa a Givil suit 

in Uuited S1&tas DiaIrict Court enciaeek paJment of a civil pcn8Ity. 

EnclOllCd is a c:onciliation 8RI!!C!!H!!!t that the Commiasion bas !!!plV\'!d in settIem&nt oflllis _. 

EnclOIlUle 

I~ 

FEC_MUR_6054_0432 

11-7565_0125 
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EXHIBIT 8 
146

2/3/12 doclJmetations for lo review 

From: kazran52 ~aoLcom:> 

To: John "'@buchananautogroup.rom> 

Subject: doeLJm~tatlonsfor .... to review 

Date: Mont Ssp B, 2008 6:38 pm 

_.hmo"": ""'n0001[1U2}.jpg IS6SK}. ""n0002[1L(2}.jpg IS85K, scan0003[1L(2).jpg IS99K). scanOOD4[1L(2).Jpg (767KI. check_eopi ... 

vem12SI1].pdf (178K) 

this this is -:::he 1st set of checks, ::he::::e are more to follow, It gives 

me q~eat regret to r,ave done this for 

Vern when he c.oe:m· t even hesitates for a second to S\.le .me and my wi foe 

over 20k .• ~aybe ;')e can consider 

taking part of this BOk+ as one month af payment 80 my w.ife doesn't cry 

out'. of feaL" of loosing our home. I thank. Vern for: glving me permls.sion 

to set aside my rncra1 oharacter .•• 

1. 1.3rni1lion cf loan on Hyundai tha-:: was neV~L" disclosed ncr mentioned 

in agreement 

2,purposly de::;eiving lender by injec':ing cash and taking it right back 

to qualify for i). l.oan, "fraud" 

3.borrowing mor.ey as capit3l contribution when that's a direct lender 

violation 

4. 1.4 million in gwinette in outstanding bills plus l.frnil1ion in 

lease payments 

5. a total of 2.2nlillion of capital required by Vern 2!=S per our 

agreement and manufacture requirernen-;: 

6. a lata 1 of l5million in da:nages caused by lack of capital i::1 

companie;s that Vern cont:ributf;;!d 

7. major reason fot: the loss of ~23 employees and their families 

because I made a bad decisions and believed Vern at his word. 

B. I am sure the other 5 pa1.'tner:s can add en 'Co this list .. ,. 

let.::; dissolve ()llr partnership and -.;emain frier.ds .....• if Vern wants to 

take Kia store.s it will be 1.5mil1ion .. 

what's not: optional is gwinette .... based on my agreement the best way 

to resolve thi.:s is to go back to wha-:: we agreed .. he is owed 10k per 

month 3S a partner, all other money needs to be paid back to me,. once 

that Ls d'.Jne we bot~'1 can work together and dissolve the company as 

partners ..... other uption is .... ait until tomorrow to find O":.lt it 

~:~:~Odgin.:.:~:;~!.::;--

Sent: Mon, a Sep 2008 4: 18 pm 

Subj ect: chec:-;: copies 

These are t.he copies that I have. Let me know if you need anything else. 

Thank you! 

Stephanie Loo:<ing for spoilers and revie .... ·s en t.he new TV season? Get 

AOL's ultimate guide 'to tall TV. 

mail. aol,cDmJ35412-111/euJl-6!en-usimaiIJPrintMess8gEl,aspx 113 

SK_0028 

11-7565_0127 
147

2/3/12 documetations for ... .to review 

mail.aol.c:omf35412-111/aol-6Jen-usimaiLiPrintMessage.aspx 213 

SK_0029 

11-7565_0128 
148

£It 

M9!A.eJ Or···JOJ. Su0n.BlGwnOOp 

SK_0030 

11-7565_0129 
149

EXHIBIT 9 
150

W A FEDERAL ELECl'ION COMMISSION Washington, DC 20463 

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL 

AND FIRST CLASS MAIL 

William J. McGinley, Esq. 

Patton Bosss LLP 

2550 M Street, N.W. 

iiW.8isbiiDgilrtoini' DC 20037 @PattonBoggs.com 

Dear Mr. McGinley: 

December 20, 20 II 

RE: MUR6054 

Vern Buchanan for Congress and 

Joseph Gruters, in his official 

capacity as Treasurer 

On February 7, 2011, you were notified that the Federal Election Commission determined 

on February 1,2011, to take no fw1heraction and close the file as to yoor clients, Vern 

Buchanan for Congress and Joseph Gruters, in his official capacity as Treasurer. This letter is to 

advise you that the file in this matter has been closed and this matter is now pub\ii:. Documents 

related to this matter will be placed on the public record within 30 days. See Statement of Policy 

Regarding Disclosure of Closed Enfurcement and Related Files, 68 Fed. Reg. 70,426 (Dec. 18, 

2003) and Statement of Policy Regardins Placins First General Counse1', Reports on the Public 

Record, 74 Fed. Reg. 66132 (Dec. 14,2009). 

Enclosed is a copy oiMUR6054 GmeraI Counsel's. Rel")rt #9 in which the Office of the 

General Counsel recommmded that the Commission take no furthar action as to Vern Buchanan 

for Congress and loseph Gruters, in his official capacity as Treasurer, the recommendation 

approved by the Commission on Februsry I, 2011. 

If you have any questions, please contact Michael Columbo at (202) 694-_. 

Enclosure 

Sincerely, 

W~ Michael A. Columbo 

Attorney 

FEC_MUR_6054_0769 

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RECEIVro 

fEDERAL ELECTION' 

COMMISSION 

BEFORE THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

In the Matter of 

Vernon o. Buchanan 

Vem Buchanan for Coogress ami Joseph R. GruteI5, 

in his otrll:ial ~lICity as treasurer 

MUR60S4 

GENERAL COUNSEL'S REPORT #9 

I, RECOMMENDATION 

201/ JAN 25 PH 2: 0 I 

efLA 

Take no 1iIrIher action as to Rq!raenIative Vernon O. Budlanan, Vem Buchanan for 

Congress and JOIIIIph Chut:in, in his officia1 C8plll:ity IS 1leU1IreI, and c_ the file IS to thaIe 

~. 

II, INTRODUcnON 

This matter concerns $67,900 of campaign contributions received by Vem Buchanan for 

Coagms ("VBFC" or "COmmittee"), during the 2006 ancI200S elelltion cycles that were 

reimbursed with the f\mds of Hyundai ofNortb Jac:ksonviUe (,'HNJ"), a ear dealmhip in which 

Rcprcscntative Vernon O. BucIumaD ("Buchanan") beld a majority ownel5hip interest. On 

March 17, 20 1 0, the Commission foUlld reason to believe that Rep, Vernon o. &c:hwIII, Vern 

BuchaMD for CoI1gmIs.IIIII Joseph 0n1tan, in his olBciai capacity as treasurer, knowingly aud 

wiUfWly violated 2 U.S.C. Ii 44lfancl44Ia(t) an;t conducted an mwstigalion. On 

Sep\lllnbcr 21, :zo 10. the Commission dcotcnninal to ODIer into pre-probohle CCIIL'IC OOIIcilialion 

with Rapondcnts, who lCjellted _illation ahortIy thereafter. After we served the General 

Couusel's Brief; Respondents served their brief, which substantively respDnded to the alleplioos 

in this matter fur the first time. On Dec:c:mber 9, 2010, the Commission held a probable calISe 

27 hearing. 

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This case tum. on whether Buchanan directed his minority business partner Sam Kazran 

r'Kazranj to reimbouse contributiolll aI HNJ in 200S, 2006, and 2007. Kazran testified that he 

did, and Buchanan testified that he did not We have reviewed the entire record, including 

Respondents' evidence and arguments regsnling the credibility of witnesses and exculpatory 

infonnalion. 

Since we served the General Couase1 's brier. we learned of evidence thai beus directly 

on Kazran's ftnIdibiiity. TIai. new ilifimution raia signiiiclIIir _ repnling tInl 

=:!ibility ofKa::.rnn, tII= principII wilDen in shis ccae, MIl tb_ il aD tcslimcmill CI\' 

dOCUlJlell!ar.y evidence that sufficiently corroborates his testimoay !bat Buchanan directed 

Kazran to reimburse contributions of HNJ employees, a claim thai Buchanan denies. Other 

witnesses gave statements that are in some ways consi!llcnt with Kazran's testimony, but these 

12 witnesses either did not testify that they hesnl Buchanan instruct Kazran to reimbUllle 

13 contributions, or their tealimony did not a1ign with Kazran'S88 to Buchanan's alleged direction to 

14 reimbwse ocmtributions. GivCD the concerns .bo~ Kazran's credibility and other gaps in tile 

I S evidentiary recolli, the lack of dilllCt support is sigDifiCllllt. Further, the cin:wnstantial evidence 

16 docs notlllfficimtly CICJIIIIIbcxatc: Kunm's 1cItimony \0 OYIm:8IIIC our IiIIUeot.-JIII with ilis 

17 c:mIibllitY bcclllDl III. IDIIII)' -. this ovidcucc I!DppOrtII BucIommt'. c:Iaima CO'i11 _biguoaa. 

18 AIIcordingly, .... fIIQQI1IIIIDIId that tha CaaIbis&ioD to IIIkc lID I\u:tIw' actian as to 

19 Buc:baJlan !II1d VBFC. 

20 UL NEW INFORMATION REGARDING KAZRAN'S CREDmlLlTY 

21 After w,e filed the Oenenl CoUJllel', briof,llespondents provided a copy of an ardcr 

22 fiDdiag Kazran in oontempt of court. This oilier, couplad with Kazran's actiOJll at about the 

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MUUOS4 G ...... Counsel', Repent (j9 (RoJlRlenlldlvo v ....... G. B .......... d all 

Pagel 

same lime we filed the General CollllSOl's brief. intlueru:cs our reasoning and rccolllJlleDdalion in 

2 this case. 

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Responden1s attach to their reply brief 12008 order fium a civil case in Georgia fmding 

Kaznm in contempt and ordering him jailed, and a 2010 mollon seekins sanctiom in the same 

case against Kazran's ~ompanics. Reply Brief; Exhs. 6, B. Respondents' claim !hat "Kazran's 

lack oforedibllity should be ewdcallll OGC given his dccclt durlna: a !'JCellt bJmIcJuptey 

proceeding in Georgia stale unrt, a _lil;aly familiar to OGC as a 'cs,,11 of i15 twD-)'CII' 

invcstigaliOlllll.· kply Brief 81 6. 

The CODI.empt order [n question was issued by a Georgia trial court in November 2008 in 

a civil suit between Bank of America IIIdlhrce car dea1crships owned by KamIn. See Reply 

Brief, Exh. S. 6. It Bppe8I'$ that the court fbund Kaznm in contempt because he baIIS£erred 

SI37.843.oo in violation of an cmleuppointinga receiver. Ttl. Weagreo with Rc3pandents that a 

court'. coDlempt order for transl'ming f\mds in viol8lion of an order of receivership ilr a serious 

matter because it Rlates to Kazan's honesty and respect for the law. I 

Respondents assert that Kazran's credibility i. also underaaincd because in mid-Io-Iate 

October 2010. he aU.pell)' thrlllelll!d to publicw: the CommissiOft's in9Ol!Sliption of Buciuman 

by f\Iing a IDilUit ICCidng BuclllDall's payDlllllt orblm's II'wllD'C ~lcd aivil pemdty with 

the CommissiOllandrcpaymtlltafthercim"-ments loHNJ. Reply Bri=ht5.Bx.b. 1,4. We 

agtee with Respcmdems that Kaznm's oc:ticms ....... ill-advised and mile credibility com:erna, 

1 RespondoaJs .110 IIIuIt oae for IlOl cIiscovoriD& thillnIbnDIIion. HeIrI"I n-cripl1l16. AI III !biB eIIl ... 

B ...... • .................... in s., ......... 20IO dIotKIL_1wI boon inJoII In 0 .... 11. Wo ubi! 

1Wpcndeall' ..... 1OI1'ur """" IJIOOIII01I1baut KIrMn'ljeillq, IIId .........,1 tbr BuolJ ..... 1IIid be wauld pnxb;e 

!hem u die opproprillll d .... Wel!mnedlaly ~crimlllll boctpIund acc:ll0I1n boIh a-sla and 

Florida, nl1IIDIc -.:lIe. produced DO evidon .. of ..... iclioJIs. ~ m.Ied lbe ilIlbnaa1lon In eor\y 

No .............. lhoy ......... lholrreplybrlef. W. donotlalowwhy _I did DOtlUllll illOOIIOI'. 

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MUR 6OS4 OeaIral ColIn .. !'. RI:port #9 (~ive Vernon G. Buchwn "al) 

Pago4 

especially as Kazran's actioDli oc:c:umd in the two weeks before the 20 I 0 elec:tions. We note that 

2 01lCe the clCClioll was over, Kazran did not follow through with his promise to tile the IaWlUit, 

3 which may sussest thsl his promise was tied to the election. 

4 [n fairness to Kazmn, hi. October 2010 correspondence essentially repeats the claims he 

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has made all along: Buchanan should zqmy lINJ and him for the amounts nol8led to Bucbanan's 

iDstNcIicm that HNJ ~ COIdributions to his political uollunitlee. Further, a close _illl 

of_ doc\IIIIIrlllllion Kazran tIIIIl iIIIIirIIII:III tlml Ks,aran's aIl1iIa woulil rataI ti9I inYIIlliglllian 

of bis OVIII DClions, IIDf iuchaoaa's. Malaa-, aItllDugh. !be 1imino of !Camn'., actiOIlll mabB il 

appear thai they were tied 10 the upeoming election, the liming of I':azma 's 1 __ also mat.d 

to the liming oflhe Commission's September 28, 2010, notification to Ksznm that il had found 

probable Gause and _ seekins CODGiHation. The September 28, 2010, notification 1_ also 

stated that the Commission might institute a civil suit against Kazran if an agreement was nOI 

reaclted within 30 days. 

We also note that althe probable CIIIISC hearing, RcIpondcnts asserted tbat "Ksznm implied 

in ill_that he was working with ooc to neaotiate a civil pena1ty.for CoJJpasman Buc1Jsnan 

to pay on bchoilfof~" 11eaDi& Tt. at 17. In fact, tho ConaDiJliOllIl!uui pelmble_ 

tbIIt Kuran M4 lINJ violated the Act, 1IId, as "JUldtile by the Act, OGe eagaged in_-

proAalNe _ condlilden on behalf' of the Commission. n.. nogotiIIion, whioh_ 

_siW. was 0_ Kazran end HNJ's clvil peQlJty,1IOl Bllllbanlll1's, 

Given the new inCcI!malion re1aq to Kszcsn's crecb'&ility, \W believe that his testimony 

repnling Buchanan'. insIruotion to rdmbunso contributions al HNJ needs strong corroboration 

to be considered suffioient enou&h to say that It is mote likely than DOl that his venion oflhe 

fiu;ts is true. Iu explained in this ICpOrt, thD record does net contain such corroboration. 

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MUR 6054 Genoal C ...... I·. ReporIII9 (hpmllllllli .. y....", O. Buehwnll td.) 

poge 5 

IV. KAmAN'S TESTIMONY AS TO DISCUSSIONS DURING WHICH BUCIIAl'IAN 

INSTRUCTED IBM TO RlIMBUliSE CONTRIBmORS AT RNJ IS NOT 

SUfFlClENTLV CORROBORATED BV WlTN.EBSBS TO THESE 

DISCUSSIONS 

Kazran testified that Buchanan, his majority partner in the HNJ car dealership, directed 

him on a number of oecasiollS from 2005 to 2001 to solicit emploYI'CS at HNJ to make 

contrilrutiCIIIS to VBI'C an::! tbol, to reimbwse thoon: flIIIpioyea • .w. funds frau, HNJ. Kuran 

Dcpo at 13-14,20.22,32,34-37.53-54, 70-72. B~ denilllllbJl he ~ 1l\I88CS'B:d thai. 

Kaztan should reimbur. employee c:anlributiollS tD IIis campWan. Bucl!anan Dcpo at 93, 98-99. 

We analyzed Kazran's testimony regarding Buc:banaD's directions to Rimlwrse 

ccmtributions ofHNJ employees and compared it to the sworn slafcmClllB oflhase who witnessed 

these \lOIIyersations to see ifKauan's clalll\S vim _likely than not true. That analysis 

sbaws that Kazran's II:stimony \loI:k. sufficient carrobomtion. 

A. The 2005 Iutruotiou to Rel.bane ContrlbJdloa. 

In his depositicm, Kazrao described the finIl tiJm: BucIum&n allegedly told him to 

reimburse c:oncrlbutions. 

Q. The FcdaaI BhIction CommiSlioD records shaw that on or about November 

200S some of !be CIlIployees at !he Nonb JackBonvillc H)'UDdal1lllllle 

c:onlrilHdiOllS to Mr. BuclIanan's campaign for Cougress. The m:onIs shaw !hit 

Gail Lephart. Ernest LepIwt, Gary Smilh and Diana Smith COII1ributed a to1Bl of 

SI6,800 to Mr. Buc:luulalis csmpaigD lor Conpss. J)id you uk IIDy ollh_ 

individuals to II1IIkc a contribution to Mr. BuchImm'a campai8ll? 

A. YOI, I did. 

Q. Why did do you that? [sic (1mIIICrijIt)) 

A. I iIIStnIcted tbem. to write a check 8IIl reimburse tbemseMs tor - because Mr. 

Buchanan had asked me to get money. And he specifically told me get sam=one 

you trust and run it tbmugh the c:olpCll'ltion. 

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MUR 6054 Oeneral Cowscl', Ropat 119 (/lopmeIIIIIive Vemon O. Bucllllllll '" til.) 

Pagd 

Q. Oby. ADd did you get someone that you 1Iustcd? 

A. Yes, Ms. Gail Lcpbart and D. Smith, he's no lonaer with us, they were the 

offiee mamgers. Ms. GaillJrphut WIll our CIIDIlltraller that IIIiId kDcIwn &lEi bad 

• gcod rcladalllbip with. And she was lJIing til CHIIIhc ebes:k. She's tile pcreu 

that CIIIS Ihe check. And the .fiTst time that - and I thiak $he's CODtrihutecI on 

multiple timc:a, but the first time that I did, I told her that we'd be getting !his 

mcmey back ftom Mr. Buchanan. I said, I don't Imow when, hejust asbd me to 

doll 

ICazran Dcpo at 20-22. ICazran makes another rel'ercnce 10 Lep/uIrt IlIlcr in the deposition when 

we C!l8IItWDld him abouI a parnJIIIIIb in ail affidavit bt BIIChaIIan and Jobo TCIId!,. the CEO of 

his compmios, JlllllCBleII to him 10 sign in col1ll8Clion 1IIiIh I setllGIIlftiII: o£. busiaess dispute 

bllt\Yccn Buchanan and Kwmn. 8M Section V.E.. belllw. This p8l'I8Iaph states that before 

September 2008, neither he nor Buchanan knew ofreimbursemcnts at fINS. Kaznm stall:d: 

A. That is an absolute lie. Mr. Vern Buchanan -- well,let's put it this way. rm smpriMd that ibty'ro paaill8lbBt in lharo, bUllausa 1181_ he's llalt pe!IIOJIB.\ talks 

with me,l've had --Sosb Farid has heard him, Gail Lephart on the pbom: has 

heard biIII .... 

KIIZran [)cpo at 70. BIlCbaaIo daiied thai boo-er 1III&B0IIed to ,_ that lui reimbUJsc these 

contributions. Buchanan Dcpo at 98-99. 

To help resolve this facIWd dispute, we Iao\a:d III sworn ~ II'Om witnessca who 

c1aiamd 1bay wan: (II'DIIIIt cillCilll 21105 COIn-UOIII regardiDc; reimbursing contributions at 

HNI. First, Gayle Lep)mrt BWmId that jlllll before she 110111!1! 1= COIII::ibulloo to VBFC on 

November 29, 2OOS, she heard Kazillllalkina on a c:e1lpIIcmD 10 a penon she 8S8IIIIIed was 

Buc1wJan. &e Lcphart Affidavit. She heard Kman SIIY something like "Vern, I'll handle it 

DOW," and illllDCdialcly after thai, Kazran told her to write a penIOnaI check to VBFC in a 

spc:c:ific amount and reimbune heraelfwith HN! funds, and !hen find other potential contributors 

at fINS and relmburse them through HNS's payrol181:C011Dt, which she did. 1;1. She also swore 

that Kazran direcll:d her to sead the contributions to Diane Mitchell al VBFC. ld Diane 

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MUIl60S4 General CounlCl'slleporl fIIJ (Ilepraenlllive V"""'" G. Buell_or aL) 

1'qc7 

Mill:hell is an assistant to John Tosch who. according 10 Buchanan, may have done some 

2 vohm_ work. for VBFC. Buchanan Depo at 101-102. 

3 However. Lephllt does not swear that she heaId Buchanan direct Kazran to !eimblusc 

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\:OIIIributions. incIced. she dicI nol hear anyIhill8 Buchanan said during the phone call in ques1ion. 

Further. Lephart did not corroborate Kazmn's \eslimOft1 that he told her that BlII:haaan would 

!epa)' HNJ fof1be Rlilftbursements. Lepbmt Aff. at 1. 

Second, Joshuil Fuid, Kuran's busill£BB putncr and brother-in-law. swon: 10 

overbearing a lODS pllane conversation duRng wbich Bucluman told Kamm IhaI he needed 10 . 

r8i$c $SO.ooo lOr VBFC, See Farid Affidmt at ,4, He also swon: that he heard Kazan tell 

Buchanan.that hi: bad aIn:ady contributed the maximum 10 Buchanan's campaip. to which 

Buchanan replied that Kazran should have HNJ employees contribute to the campaign and then 

reimburse them with lINJ funds. Id Kazran did nol mention this conversation in his deposition. 

B, Tbe zg06 lutrudlout 10 ReI.bun. COJItributionl 

Kazran also testified to a 2006 convmatlon dunas which Buchanan suggested to him 

that he could reimburse contributions aI HNI to raise $2S.080 or $SO.OOO for VBFC, and tbIs 

ouggestion was portoftbc IICgotUdiODS ... garding Kaz.... ·s pmdIue ofBuet.Ian·s iRtercst in. 

dcalerslJip in Georgia c:alled Gwinnen Place Dodge, Kaaan Depo al 13-14. 32, 34-36, 

B1u:hana denies dIBI be ever ~ ~ cantributicms aI HNl. DIlChaaan DcpaRl9S. 

98-99. and specifically denied !bat he 4iseussed with Kazran the amount that Kara _uld bave 

to pay blm fbr his aIwe of GwInoett Place Dodge, and denied asking Kazran to raise funds in 

connection with thai tmnsaction. Id. all 04-1 06. 

Kazran testified that BuchanaD, Farid, and he were walking in • hallway when Kamn 

offered to buy Budlanan's inten:st in that dealership. Kazran Depo al32, 34-35. BuohanaD. had 

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MUR 61'4 G ....... eo ..... ·• Report 119 (Representative Vermm G. B ........ II tIL) 

PapS 

asked Kazran for 5300,000 or S4OO.OOO for his inlerest, but Kaznm did not have thai much 

money. Id. at 35. Kaznm wanled to pay 8 smaller amount, and he WIIIIed 10 pay BuchaDan over 

time. 1d. He further testirJed lhat Buchanan agn:cd to paymCIIIs over time ifK.azran would agree 

10 raise ''25- or $50.000" for VBFC. Id. at 35-36. When Kazran said he did nOI have that much 

money, 8uchanan told him to "ge!someone you InIst and run il through the corporation." !d. at 

36. HI: IIso claims that PBrid was PnlR4l during the conYmatloR. Id. II 32. 72. 

Farid.lmwt;ver, does nat _thai he heard Bu8hlUl8l1lol1 KaznIo to reimburse VBFC 

conlrlbutlollB with IINJ tilndslblring this IIIII1vmatillll. HI! ~ dIIt (1) he bard BlI£hanan 

telllCa2ran thst he "would have to gelmon: limds for Buchanan's campaign." and (2) it was his 

underslanding .. ......., on .ub .... uent CQIlyenations [Faridl bad wjtb Mr. KmajI" that Buc:hanan 

wanted Kazran to solicil contributions \'tom IINJ employees and Iheo reimburse IIwn with IINJ 

funds. Farid Aft: at 1[5. So, while Farid's affidavit provides evidence that is consistent with 

SOllIe details to which Kazran also testified. illacks rust-hand testimOllY 00 the most importanl 

14 point: whether Bucbaoan told Kazran to reimburse cootributions al IINJ in 2006. 

IS C. Tile ZQ071altrgstfoau 10 Rebpbune CootribUtiODI 

Iii There is cmroboratillll ofKaznm n!inllnusing Clllllributiona III ONI in 2007. but not oflhe 

17 allegation that Buch_ di:n:ct..r Ihcm. Kam ... •• IcsIimony II In such Ddllllbuncmen18 was: 

18 Bul on the second time, in fact, she [Lephart] was at the office wlu:n 1_ taIJciDg 

19 to Mr. Buc:hanan. And at the time in 2007. or 2008. wuthe second one, the 

20 CDlllpany was not doing very pod. so-ad she wu not very bappy about us 

21 writing those large amoun18 of checks. 

22 

23 Kazran Depo at 22. He aI&o testified: 

24 

25 And that -Illd the s=md time tt.t III WIllI Nllllill& we were m the process of 

26 buyill81he KIa deaienhl,. But,:J'OII know, I was a pretty good partnor. if you 

27 will, with Mr. B~ 10 he a1_ys- he always said, I'm COWIting OD you 

2& 1liii/0'. YIIIII're the anIy oae tim can raise this kind of money. Malee sun: you gel it, 

29 Malee sun: you get it 

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MUll. 6OS4 GoaaaI c-sc\', Ropon J9 (ReprOSllllUllift Vcmon G. BudJalu.., III.) 

"",,9 

There WO\Ild be times that Mr. Buchanan would call me in B week's time several 

times, 1_, very all@'_ivelytao. 1-.... I rel!llllllber lavinD two, thra= 

phone I'Idls in" I-, duee-day pqrIod, 

Now, If you guys go and check the close of reportiP8, that quarterly reportiP8, 

you'll see that, you know, 11 the beginning you set 8 amaIl amolll1!, but then 

towards the end ofit he would always expect liS to do more. 

Kazran lle\lC at 53-54. Kazran further testified: 

Q.: Mr. Kazran, going _k to the prwiCllll testimony that you've made lodliy, 

isn't it InIc that you were initiaUyapproached by Mr. Bucbanan who illSlrlletCd 

youA.: Bvery lime. 

Q.: -- to reimbullie your employees with the eompany money and contribute to his 

campaign? 

A,: Risht, He said JCllOmebody you trust, run it Ihmnsh the COIJIlIraliOll. AmI 

Jom Farid WIllI pICIent there. 

Id. at 72. Again, Bdcllmlll1l dmIia tl .. t II: eftr diacuaal reimblltsing COiIIiIiimtioas iii liNI. 

Buchanan Dcpo at 93, 98-99. 

Lepluat's afticIavit also describes reimbursements at HNJ "IIOmelime in 2007." She 

swore thI1t Kazran ~lChcd hoi and told her that HNJ employees needed to contn'bute to 

VBFC and be reimbursed with HNJ fuads, Sim cbtimed she l1li111 Kamnn she wUIIJl8rl: 1Itat 

company numey MIl gaing to 1m IIIIed tu lBim_e IIOIIiriIRniOns, but KI2IIBD t1IIp8ded ODly 

with a IlluuS, Sr. LephBrt Aftida .. it. 

What is missiP8 from both KaDan's testimony and Lephart's statement is specific, direct 

evidence that BudwIan told Kaznm to reimburse: eontributions in 2007, Kazran testifies only 

that Buchanan told him to get man: oontriblllions, and he was aggressive about iL X-Depo 

at 53-54, He obliquely indicated that these oontributions were also acc:omplished throush a 

trusted person, Lephart. Id 1122. Lephart ratifies only that Kazran told her to reimburse IlIOn: 

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MUll 6054 Geaeral Counsel', Report., ~VCII\DIIG. Bud •• " .... 'al.) 

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colllributions at IINJ, she told Kaznn she: was upset about it, IIId Kaznn only sluugged. Kazran 

also 1esIified ambiguously about bow Buchllllllll inslrUcted him 10 reimburse contributions "every 

time," but he ~s 10 be referring to times wilen Farid was pn:scnt, and Farid was not present 

during the 2007 coavenation he had with Buchanan. Kazran Depo at 72. A. there is insufficient 

direc;t evidenc:c 1bat Buchanan diRcted KIznm to reimburse contributions at HNJ, we nelIl 

llOIIIicim:d the cin:umMaDtiai C'Jidenee. 

V. SOME OF THE C1RCUMBTAiifI'IAL EVIDENCE IS CONSISTENT WITH 

KAZRAN'S VERSION OF EVENTS, BUT OTHER EVIDENCE IS CONSISTENT 

Wl11f THE DENIALS OF BUCHANAN AND mil ASSOCIATES 

As c1cscribed _ fUlly in tho 0encraI Call1lSel's Briar, !ben: was II neries of _ts fiom 

200S to 2008 that relates to Kazran's llIegation that Buchanan directed him and other putoers in 

his businesses to reimbune contributions. 1l!e circumstallllaJ ev!clence does not suffiCiently 

CQIJ'ObonUc Kazran's testimony 10 oven:omc our recent concerns with his credibility bcc:ause in 

many cases, the evideru:e is consistent with the denials of Buchanan and his associates. 

A. Test!mo!!J Til.! Sborfly After BuchM'B ABaouB. Ilia Caadidacy Jp 2005.0Be .f 

I!!..AsIcM!!ahs I.Vtld.Jlaal.Eamloy!!"CmttdhIdlDDI COul!l.IIa.Relmlluped 

Buchanan lDDOunced to his partners at • meeting in late summer 200s that he was 

IUIIIIiDg for CIIfI!!II=S. BuchanaB partner Sttr ... SiI""';'o koItified lit. C8llversatiOll that happened 

during a IUBCh in Augal or September 200S that foUowed Ibllt mc=tiug. ~ to Silverio, 

BudJanm's COO Demis Shttcr suqcsted that ClII1IIributions to Buchanan's camplip cou1d be 

23 reiD\boJDed, IIIId BIIChIIIaD's CEO Jobo Tosch,ust sat theR." Silverio Depo at 46-47. 

24 In response, Respondents cite Tosch's peral dcaW at any knowl. that Buc:batta.a or 

2S his agents suggested reintbursing contributions aDd Slater's testimony that he did DOt know about 

26 III)' COIItributioas that had beea reimbmsed ualil he beard about them in the media Reply Brief 

27 at 14-1 S; Tosch Dapo 1136; Slater Depo at 68. Respondents slso assert that Silverio testified 

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MUR 60'" a_I CaunICI's Report 119 (Ropruentatlvc v ....... a. _an .. all PIce 11 

that Buchanan never aUucIcd to reimbursill8 dealenhip employees, and Silverio was biased 

2. against Buchanan. Sir. Reply Brief at IS, note 8; Heariag Tr. at 10. In addition, before the 

probable c:aUBC bearing, WI: identified and disclosed to the Respondenls Silverio's prior 

4 sIaIement, made during an informal interview before his deposition, thallhe Buchanan officer 

who authorlzecl the reimbunements was ei1ber Toach or Slater and that Buc:iuman was present 

6 when alii! afhis ICp afBcers pYe that 1Hs1nJl:li1M. Letter dated D=cambdr 9, 2010. In c:onInIsl, 

7 durillBlIil dBpcsitia~, IIlVlrio 1cIti6ad that il ,,_ i!lBicr wluJ IIIIIcd that partners oould 

8 reimburse their empIlI)IeM tilrough pI)'IIIll, and Silverio did II1II place B11dI_ II. ,Ihis 

9 dillCUSSion. Sire Silverio Depo at 46-47. Further, we disclosed to RuponcIcnIs that Silverio 

I () silled durilll his ioter¥iew thaI after the end of his JIIl\IICIShip with Buchaoan, he was It one 

II time motivated to sue Buchanan or take their dispute to the media, but an attorney talked him OUI 

12 ofi!. Lc\tel'dated DeI;cmbcr 9, 2010. 

13 We believe that Silverio'. dcposition testimony remaiDs credible. First, Silverio testified 

14 in a WBy that cIimioated Buchll1ll1ll'. iowlycment in this incident, which is mconsistent with a 

1 S bias against Buchaaan. RespoDdcms' claim that that Silverio's initial desire to sue BochanIn or 

16 go to the lI1ec1ia shows biaa qainst RucbiIIIan, but it is bald to understand how Silwrio's u11im1111 

17 refuBd ill do liae1lliDgS in the pullbows IIIIt be muat b_ beeR biBBed 19ains! iiacIuaum 

18 wilen he IIsIified IS to what 81G ....... id and T.-h. hard. Fwtb.r, wbellwr it YIllII ToEil or Illata· 

19 who aullmrimd tim JIIlIIUm to reimburse employee OOIIIributions, Silverio consisr.tly claimed 

20 tbat • top Bucbanan officer lI1\aested that partners could reimburse employee contributions. 

21 Finally, bo1h Slater and Tosch haw reason to deay that the incide1lt Silverio described bappeaed. 

22 Even so, this iJx:idcut is of llinitl:d vaiw: in supporting Kazrao' 8 testimony about 

23 Buchmm Silverio testified that Bochanan was not present during the conYe1'llllliol1, mel that be 

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MUR 6054 Gononl Counsel's Report 119 (bptesenlllive V.IMB G. Buchanan II 01.) 

Page 11 

never heard Buchanan suggest \hal partnen could n:imbwse employee contributions. Silverio 

2 Depo 1l61. In addition, no other Buchanan partner who we contac1ec! staled that he heard 

3 Buchanan authorize reimbUlled COlI.tributions. 

4 B. PPndAlslp,. Pregure 

S AJi dm:ribed more Iully at pages 9-IS of!he 0enera1 ColBISe1'S Brief, there was also 

6 testimony and documentary evidenol thai beginning ill. 200S, Buchanan and his associates 

7 preanDIIIIIiI pUJor p...-s 1m 1tSi&c: CDIIIrilsuttllllS, espIIliidly lllwards the etCt' of qualledy 

8 reporliDg pc:riiIds, that IIllIIhaun's CIIlIIpaim!l'llCbd!hac ccmlrilllltiollS, and that BllllbRBD WIll 

9 more involved in these aoIiviliei than he was willing to lIImil during his deposition. 

10 Respondell.1s argue that all of Ibis activity was norma1 and lepl, and BucbanJn's lack ofreca11 

11 aboul these events is UllClerslandable, given the passage of lime. Reply Brief, 16-18, 22-24. We 

12 think !he evidcnc:c here is ambiguous bec:a1llC it is consistent with both !Camn's COIltcntions of a 

13 wider Rimbursement scclllrio and ResporuIenls' claim of norma! campaign IClivity. 

14 C, Employee Beimbunemmts ., the yegise N""g Dea!mhlp in 2005 yd the 

IS SJmQplltlPn!P .. !mhip 1P%007 

16 

17 Lut year, the Commission found probable cause 10 believe that contributions in 

II September 2005 _ reimbmsai III Venice Nissan ("W"), a BuchaaaII-colllmlled dealc:rsbip, 

19 and the relev* mspaijdoonta concili.1ed wiIh tile Cclll~ 8M (]enrul Cmme!'. Repon fI6 

20 In Ibis matter. There is, however, no IDfonaalkm lilat Buchaaaa was perBCIIWIl)' involved with 

21 these reimbu.'8eD1CIIfS. 

22 In 2007, aaother Buehanan dealership, SIIIICOIIst FcmI, reimbursed $18,400 in 

23 cDlllribulicms to VBFC JIIIIde by its opending partner, Oary Scarbrough. and three employees. 

24 Se, OC's Brief III 5-16, Reply Brief 1l20-21. RespondCll.ls' SlIIUptJnt. submission in this 

2S matter did not mention these reimlnncme:ots. See Reply Brief, Exh. 9. Respondents do not 

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MUR dOS4 Gcnenl Counsel'. Report" (Ropn:senIaIive Vernon G. Bum." .. '" aL) 

P"", 13 

conteIJt that SIIDCoallt Ford reimbursecl these contributions, that they learned of the 

2 reimbursements in 2.007, or that they did not voluntarily dise10sc this fact to the Commission. 

Reply Brief at 20-21. Respondents rely upon Scarbrough's testimony thlt be did not recall 

4 ordering the reimbursemenlS. Id at 7. They also maintain that VBf'C's refund or the reimbursed 

contributions was in line with CommiaBion regulations and standard operating procedure Ibr 

6 politic:al call\paigns. Id al2.l. 

7 Regarding Scarbrough's claim he did not recall ordering the reimbursements, we note 

!hat Scerbrongb reIpOJIdec! tbat he either did "not recall" ar did ''DDt 1CDII:!IIber" iJ\ICl" 100 times 

9 durla& his deposltiOll, wbich IIIIICd a IiltIc more fban two bours. Su Scarbrough Depo,ptIIlim. 

10 A3 discussed below, Scarbrough remembered more during hi. infmmal interview, so we do not 

II consider bls testimony particularly credible. In addition, after the SunCoast Ford 

12 reimbursements were revealed, neither Scarbrough nor any other SuoCoast Ford employee was 

13 diaciplined for using company fiIncIlJ to contribute to VBFC, Tosch Depo at S I, nor have 

14 Bw:hanan's businesses instiluted new policies nor issued guidance to BuclwIan's partoers and 

15 employees about comributins to VBFC. l'osch Depo 4t 52. 

16 RapauIcnIs' ctJI!!IInIi~ lllat VBFC C<DpUed with ClXDIDisllion I'IIg\IIIItiIlllll wbau. it 

17 llllimded tI!e reimburaad SCF CCIIIIIriloutiona ill es_ially bW:. Nonetheless, in response to a 

18 quesdon at th~ h:atinll why VIIFC QG(y cIiIcIosed tIu: IIN.T .mimbmed COIIIrihIItioaI ids_ 

19 IpIJIII' and nol the SCF reimbursed coDlributions, c:nunsel for VBFC responded that CREW bad 

20 filed a complalnl 011 AIlgust 19,2008, alleging reimbuned conIribuliOllS at VN, IIDd it WBnIed the 

21 Commission to understand "all of the outltanding issues. ft HeariIIg Tr. at 31-33. Counsel also 

. 22 stated that the HNI reimbursed contributions were more recent thaD the SCF IIlimburscd 

23 contributions aDd that IINJ was'" completely diffenm.t fact paItcnI." ld 8131·32. CounscI flD" 

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MlJR 60S4 0-..1 Co\IIIICI'. Rcpon 89 (Ropnscnrative Vemon G. Bucbanon 01 "'.J 

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Buchanan nWd that VN never admitted wrongdoing, and he distinguished sa Iiom HNI by 

auerting that Sc:arbroush "believed he could engage in the aclivily that oceumd there" and that 

il was a "mistake." Id. aI3S-36. Ultimately, counsel's explanation appeared 10 be thaI, in 

contrast to the Buchanan subordinates involwd in the VN and SCF contribution reimbursements, 

Kazran was the only Buchanan parmer who admitted guilt. Id. 81 36. We belinc the SI/Q 

sponre's exclllBion ofille SunCollSI Forti reimbunemcnts is in lension ..-ith oounsel', cia at the 

heuiog tIIlI\ me sa Spoilt, was tilad tl belp lhe Commission Ulldmillllad "all the olllslandinil 

issues. 1I 

Relaled to evidence of relmbunemants 81 other BuchaDan-owneci dealenhlps is the 

telllimcmy fiom SalvlllOre Rosa, a former financial officer for a Buchanan-owneci company, that 

8uc1wlan had uked hhn in the early 2000'110 help one of Buchanan's business partners receive 

a reimbursement for a po1itica1 con1n"bulion using the funds of the comJlllllY Bucbanan owned 

with that partner. Rosa Dopo 8120-21. k:cording to Rosa, when be told Buchanan that doing so 

would be illegal, Buchanan told him to "fine&ee itnlllld ended the conversslion. Iii. 8121-22. 

Buchanan denies Ibis _t bappeDcd, and In their Reply Brief, Respondents provide reacms 

why \be, beli4M dIat Itosa is an 1IIII'CIiabIe'lrilne8s. See BII1lIiMIn n.p8 at 73-74, Reply Brief 

12-14, IUId l1uetiaa VI.B.3~. In ~serD B question II! the IIealin& 8ucllllnu1's co..-l 

sIIItad that tbc pIuue ''fiaessc it" could boo ~ in different ways II1II that Bucblllll\ might 

inIerpret such a statement ditIerentJy than Rosa did. Hearing rr, at 25-26. Respondllldll did not 

oft'er lilly examples of alternative iDtapretaticma. 

The COJ1IIIIi8Iion Iinmd probable cause to believe that VN and a senior IJIIIII88CI' 

reimbuned ClllplOyoe contn"butiooa, aDd tbeJc is no dispute that SCF reimbursed employee 

contributions. These incidentll are consIS1eDI with Kazran's testimony of a n:imbwsement 

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scenario at HNJ. another Buchanan-owned business. There il. however. nO evidence directly 

linking Bucharum 10 these situalions. Rosa's testimony. however. links Bucbanan 10 aucil a 

scheme. although it is outside the statute of limitations. Ewn so, it is evidence that is consistent 

with Kazran's deim that Buchanan asked him 10 reimburse contributions at flNJ. 

D. Kazna .. d F.rld' •• EIIIIII .. 

In 20U8. thl! bllJslnen ralatioDSbip betMan Buc:lumlll1IIUi Kazran deteriorated as 

Kazran's dulersblps began .experillllliag tinaolCiat diflin\llty. As. _It. KamII and FBrid II1:II1 

a ames IIf Clllllila 10"'--' hill ('.sf) loIm Tosc.It. aad Olll: of Buchanan's IItmmeys in IIIIe 

SUIIIJIIIII' and early fill of2008 seeking to resolve the-business dispute. a in sume CIIIIes, asking 

for Bucharum's help. Kazran also sent Tosch copies of the contribution checks ofllNJ 

employees IUId the HN1 checks giVlln 10 those employees to reimburse them for 1heir 

contributiolUL aN Toach Depo Docs oooa 18-38. 

The first Kazran email. dilled August 26. 2008. and sent to Buchanan. mentioned 

Kazran's support of their partnership and slated "[ am the ollly one in our group that bas donated 

over 80k to [BIIChanaD'S] c:ampai.gD." 'rolch Depo Docs 000051-59. It stated that ft:aznn and 

BuchanaB appCllllld to be at the 4IIICi of their plIrIIIersbiP. but Kman hoped for an "lImicabil, 

c1ean and lpellliy ait 1IIIIBiIIBY.".1'If. at 000058. 

'Iba .DIII.t day, !!arid amI an cmaiI to T.ada in wbiah bo exprw_ldiullIIIioD willi 

BucbaMn because Buchanom was seeking to sue Kazran after "this dealership" [HNJ] bad 

supported hilll8l1lplip "to. tunc of$80K" at BucIwlm's n:qucst Puid Aff. at Elch. 1. He 

also expressed frwI1I1Ition with Kam.n. Id. In his affidavit, Farid explained that he sent this 

email, in part, beclll5e he felt thai Bucharum was takiDa advantage ofKazran by expecting.him 

to use dealership fImds to reimburse employee c:onIributions to VBFC. Farid AIr. at 1-2. 

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MUR 6M4 00II:II1 eoan,,"sl\cpolt 119 (Represllllalive Vemcm O. Buc ........ eI a/.) 

Pqel6 

On September 8, 2008, Kazran sent an email to Tosch cilhcr just bc:iim or jus! after 

race:iving a demaDd leuer for S2.S million iom Buchanan. In the eDIIil, Kman stated: 

Ibis il the I" set of checks, then: IlC IlIOn: to follow, [t gi~ me gn:at rcgm to 

have dmllllllis for Vern wileR he cIo_', even hesitater. [lie: 1 for. SlIGIInd to Ille 

me mI my wife over 20k .• Maybe hi: can ccna.idc:r IlllliDa p&rt of !hill 8Ok+ as 

one month ofpaymenl so my wife doesn't cry aut of fear oflo01in8 [6Ie] our 

home. 1 thank Vellt for giving mc pcnnisslon to SCI aside my moral dwacIa' ... 

Tosch Depll D_ OOIlC2S. Tosch klllUicd that Kman •• tt IbiJ c:uudllllld !he chccb to him the 

day III the clay after B~ sent iIim the d_d letter seeking $l.S .lilIon OD elDllll 

BUIIbar.an lmd madft til Kaznm. TOlall DcpD at 92-96. Accolwling 10 Tcm:h, this eDIIii rbows !hi 

8IIlOIII*t of dcIIIership molle)' that Kazran c\aimecl he used to reimbursn employee contributions 

at Buchanan's dilllClion. S. Tosch Depo at 71; •• fIIso Tosch Depo Docs 000028, 000049, 

000056, IIDd OOOOS8-59. 

On Odobcr I, 2008, KIIZnn _au email to Buchanan anomey Roser Oannam about 

terms on which BIIehanan aad Kman might settle their business dispute. That cmaiI conIBinccl 

the following: 

Vern had mentioned he would want to reimburse the 110m a bill that he and I 

spoke of; the total amount Is $&3SOO, He bas copies ofS2k, if he likes I can get 

the rest or he can VIII'if)' through bislllCOld. This was at his request 

Tosch Dcpo Docs 000049. 

Finslly, O!I OcIabcr S, 2908, KI;rnn ..... 1II1 email to Tollcl1, whicll appcBII to 

rcfkct sctllcmcnt diac:w!siool he was having diR:ctty with Bw:hanan. In that cmail, 

Kazran 1tItI:d: 

Vern aad I will talk about the las! part without IIItorDics(.rie:), I thiDk I have a 

sugestion tbat will 'IIIBke him happy .•. He WIIIIII to cut a dIeck for all the 

1IIIIOUIlt, 1 bm: about 70k IrIckod doWII the Rat In mdit canis, ifhe wants to 

vaf~, I have to call the CIIDIpIIisa mgr to ask her for detai1s, if you can have 

someone do Ihat I would app[ns]ciate it. 

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Tasch Oepa Oac:s 000056. 

2 ResponcleDla maintain that Kazran's 2008 emails were bath (a> about the rcimbunements 

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3 far wbich Kazran did nat want 10 take nlSpaII9ibllity, Reply Brleht 19, and (b) not about 

reimbursements but, as Tosch testified, about aIIomey's fees. Reply Briefat 9·10. Respondents 

do not clearly explain this dift'cnmce. In support of their claim that the "52k" Kaznn refilrred to 

in his October 1.2001, ernail_ a refcmu:e 10 Kazran's lI1Iomey's fees, Respondents rely on 

TOIIEb's deposiliDn testimony. Reply Briar at 9·10; Tooch DepJ at 92·96. KIalIua n:ceRtly 

confumod in a letter that be aod Bu.chaun weR imlca! diSCUIIBing Budumim potIIIibly paying 

Kazran'sattomey's fecs ofS50,ooO. Reply Brief, Exh. l. 

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Although the emails contained diswssians about attomey's ICes, they also appear 10 

discuss Kaz/an's reimbuncment of c:ontribulions at HNJ and bis discussions with Buchanan 

about repaying tboae fUnds. What is not clear Is wbetber these emalls closely support Kman's 

claim !hat Buchanan told him 10 reimburae these contributions with HNJ ftmds, or that Buchanan 

agreed to repay these amounts. The language in the emails is vague on these points, and none of 

them stste that Bachanan was aware tba! Kazran was reimbursing camributians or that Bac:Imnan 

ordered him \0 do 10. 

Eo Til!! am_vb tIFd Blacl!plll!l!" Atl!Plm _cd iCynp to Sip 

Aaather Fi- of circumslaDlial evidence in this matter is that on October 2, 2008, 

Buchanan and Toscb made III offer to Kamn III settle their dispute that requiJed him to sign an 

affidavit regarding the Rimburscment of contributions at HNJ. This affidavit staled, among 

other things, that neither BlK:hanan nor KIZIIIl knew anything about the reimbursed 

COIIIributians. Tbi.s affidavit was attached to a settlement proposal Buchanan's eounsel drafted, 

whicb Buc:hana and Tosch signed. Kazmn Depo at 56, Exbs. 2 and 3. Kazmn testified that the 

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MUJl60S4 Ocnaal eaunIC1'11lopon '" (kc.,......lIIi .. Vc:mo. 0. BucIIIftan./ GI.) ..... 18 

affidavil was false, and that Buchaaan made its execution a condition of thaI October 2, 2008, 

offer 10 settle their diffcrcnc:cs. KIzran Dcpo at 63, 70-72. He statccl that Bw:harum tcId him "if 

I did not sign the UHdavit, to blame everything 01\ me, then there would be DO lIgfeCIIIenlaDd 

contract to purchase out the cIca1ership and 8ive me back the money." ld. at 63. This affidavit is 

potemially signiflCam bec:ause it could demonstrate thaI Buchanan was attempting to c:om:csI his 

Invo\wr., .. t In the relmbw1uulctllllClHmc. 

Rospcmdaull cIIim tbat 1M allidavit iI"lIJItireIy 1nIC." Reply Brief at 20; su a/so 

Probable CaNse HDarl,.. Tl8IlSCripl.t: 37. OMlmy to IlupondeDts' claims, the affidavit is not 

"entirely true." Paragmpb S ofthc aflidavlllllates that before Scptcmhcr 2.008, Kaznm bad no 

inf'onnation that lIN] t.d reimbun;cd individuals forCOll1rlbutions made to VBFC. This 

provision conlladicts one of Respondcnts' key claims in the casc··thal Kamm alone di~ted the 

reimbanemenls at HN] during the '06 and '08 cycles. See Hearing Tr. at 7·8. It also contladicts 

Kazran's undisputed klstimony that be reimbursecl contributions at HN] in 200S, 2006, and 2007. 

Se, Section IV, above. Further, at the time the affidavit was drafted, Kazran bad already sent the 

reimbursement checks to Tosch, who discussed Kamn's allegations with Buchanan's alIomeys. 

Tosch Dapo at 71·72 (noting that Kaznm dilWSStld the reimbll!lcmenlli durilll a call that took 

place the day at, or Ihc ~ay btf'olll:, Kazran sat Ihc cJmc:ks to TOICh by allllll); TCIICh Depa Dooa 

000028 (September B, 2008, ODlai1 fiolll Kaznm to TOB(ln _taiDing HNJ lIIimmamlClJl. c:beeIu 

and the contribuljDn c:becks that were reimbursed). Fi1laiiy, Bw:baIIan and Toscb gave difl'cent 

RIIIODS why the aftidavit was aecessary. Buchanan claimed that the affidavit was needed 

beCIIIIIC Tosch told him that Kazran wlSlIying ID leverage more money in the financial dispute, 

but Tosch claimed that the affidavit was needed hued on • convcnation Buchanan bad with 

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Kamn on October 1,2008. So Buchanan Depo atI6S-68; Tosch Depo at Ill. Tosch testified 

2 that he was \llllWII'C oflhe subject oflhe conversation. Tosch Depo "t 111-12. 

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Buchanan testified to having a1moSlllOlhing to do wilh the affidavit and remembering 

litlle about it. Buchanan Dcpo at 164, 166-67, 173. He claimed he did not remember signing the 

lICItlement proposal to which the affidavit WII attached, that it was not llis idea to have lWraD 

sil!ll the affidltvit. thai be did nat len", who prepared tIN affidavit, that he ..Bd 110 par1 ill dndtillll 

it, that .. bad ___ it bilifilaa Ilia de_lUI, ancIllDlil be IlB'et dlscUlDld it wilb TIIIICb. Id. 

at 164, 1416-67. He: decied mowing ifl<lmB. ever signed Ilw.m.tmm. Itt at 173. RapondeDIs 

aslett !bal B1IIIt.aan was·lIIldamtandably u!lBblc "to remembr.r the prc:cise details of. dacwncnt 

he bad m:veueen(.J" Reply Briefat 20 • 

Bw:hanan's lade: ofrcc:alJ .baUl the affidavit, or the ewnts sumllll1Cling it, does not seem 

credible. It is improbable that Buchanan's aItomeyS drafted the affidavit &lid presented it to 

Kazran without Buchanan's involvement comidering that (\) the affidavit did not concern the 

subject of the COIIUIIetI:iaI negotialiOlll, but rBIGr Buchanan's knowledge of reimbursed 

contribulioas to V!lFC, III'Jd (2) it WKS presell\e('l to • fonner Bachanan )llll'lner who, according to 

ReapondcIIts, _1bn:aIcming to SO til BUCIuman'. polillcall!JlPOll'lld m the CODlllllHlon t.c:f'on 

17 the 2008 elecJIion with bill aJlqation that BucbItu ..... dcIIld h1B1 to ....... buno . .,. ... lId ... lilll1 .. 

18 To _ oxInt, the afJidavil· DODlnodicts !be tltllimoIly Dfbath ICar.lm1llld Dachaaan. 

19 Respcmd&nls claim thaI ~!Ddavil is true, but It is not. KaznKI claims that the.afiidavil "blanlc[sj 

20 every1bing on me, n but il does not. Kaznm Dcpo Id. 63. ThUl, it does not pnwide strong 

21 c:omlboratioo for eitblr. 

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MUR60S4 0_1 eou .... I·. Ropart.9 (Repooentad .. V"" ... O. B..ch ..... Of at.) 

Page 20 

F. TI!e Tglimo~! of BucblUllln .. II bls ANDcI •• all BlSkmulld Wllg 

On a numbcrofbackssound issues. the testimony of Buchanan and bislISSOciata 

is DOt par1ic;ularly cmlible. Although these inconsistencies diminish the credibility of 

Buchanan and his associates, they do not necessarily corroborate Kazraa's testimony. 

In their Reply Brie!, Respondents claim thatlheze is "unassailable, iDdcpendeat 

proof that Co!lplIllll1llll Buchanan actively imIIructcd spins! l'Cimburamllart of 

canlributiDllD," Raply Brie! at II, Cl!llIIllhaugh tIJere b little comoborative CII'ilicnac IIIIIi 

more eonlRlry evidence. During his depasition, Bucl!aaaa IIIIHJWI !hot ke IIIIIIIc it clear 

to Kazran IIIId others thai they coulcl not reimbInc CIIIIlributioDs, IIIId thai VBPC lCIIla 

letter to JIIItnenI informing them that they could not reimburse contributions. Bucbanan 

Dcpo 8\ 34, 58-59, 93-94. Buellanan's testimony is at odds with the testimony of Kazraa 

and Silverio, see Kazmn Depo at 87-88 (testimony that he was Wl8WIIIC that reimbursing 

conlributioas was ilIepl), SUvcrio Depo at 46-47 (c1aimi1l8 that BuchaIIaa's COO 

Dennis Slater told him in ZOOS that he ~ reimburse conlributioas IUd that Silverio did 

not know the rules OJ" the laws of campaign liaancc). Buchanan's testimony is also 

intcmaUy incInBistenl, contradic:tcd bJ II statcmCIIII in lID ~_lIlthe l'IIMaIr VBFC 

-= NIIIIII)' WadaiDatlw abe __ afllD)' ~ prq>IIIIId far 

Bucbma's business JI2r!Der& raprding campai8l11i1w= law, BUd aot lupporIBd by !he 

doaumenlS actually produced by VBFC. 

Similarly, Buch8IIan testified that be could not remember "ooc way OJ" the other" 

whether he ever asked Kazran to IImdraise for VBFC for the '06 elcction. BuclJIIaan 

Depo at 89. Then: is evideDal thai Buchanan did uk, IIId it raises leptimate questioas IS 

to Bucbanao's credibility that he could not sdmiI this innocuous fiu:L See Gruters Dcpo 

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MlJR 6054 Oawal Caanse!'s \ItjIcm 119 (IlepmenWive Vernon O. BUChalWl1I Q/.) 

1'Igc21 

at 38-39 (lesti1Yinl that Buchanan asked his partners for conlributions during the 2006 

2 election). Despik: not remembering whether be asked Kazmn to fUndraise in 2006, 

3 Buchanan WIll certain that he told Kaznm no! to reimburse contributions. Su Buchanan 

4 Depo a! 93-94, 110. These two statements are largely inconsistent with caeh other, and 

S are lneemlstell! with the other evidence. 

~ 6 Aim, 8ilYCrio and 0Iu!eq Ie8lified tld Buc:hanan discussed bill campaign with 

~ 1 his pBl'lllCrS at1he mOlllhJy putner nmetings. wbIcI. BuchaDIB n:gm.ly 1Itbmdcd. 

.~ 

~ 8 SIIwrio Depo at 16-11, 21-21; Gruters [)epa at 32,50-51. Buc.baDm 8IId his top 

ci 9 dcputllll, Tosch and S1afl:r, appeared to have contradicted 0l1li IIIOtber as to whether 

N 

~ 10 Buchanan attended partner meetings during his campaign and whether his campaign was 

II discussed at those meetings. See Buchanan Depo at 26, 51,114: Tosch Dcpo at 28; 

12 SIaIcrDepo at 41-57. However, Grutcn' and Silverio's atimony _ consistent with 

13 Kazran's account. 

14 Bucbamm k:Stified that he did not report an indivldnal partner's fundraising goal 

IS bac:k to the tampaign, the campaign did not tracIr. fimdmising eoaJs, and that he could not 

16 "imagine saying anythIRg" to biB eampaip about what his JIMIDO%8 BpIII6 to raise. 

17 Buclnuum~ Depo at 41, 56. Fudhar, BucIDlMl IImIRed,"I don't \qJow wb8IlIDyllDdy!ins 

18 raised." Itl. at 110. Howa=, this lllllimDDy ill colltJadieted by __ mooy ofGtUers 

19 and doMllCllta ]IIOduced by VBFC. The c:ampaiga IllliDtaiMlIisIa showing the 8IIUNI\tS 

20 that Buchanan'. psrtners W committed to raise, or what they bad misc:d 80 far, Oruters 

21 Depo at 42-43,97, 109, and Buchanan himselfwou1d foUow up with partners to see how 

22 they \Wre progressing with their fimdraising. Id at 38-39, 42, 109-111. VBFC produced 

23 an cmail1isting $.58,300 in contributions ftom various individuals received by VBFC 00 

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MUR 60'4 Genenl CouDsel's RIpart.9 (Represealllive Veman G, Bucbuan II "'.J 

PIp 22 

September 27, 2007, including 59,200 from Kman and his wife. VBFC initillily 

produced this email on June 25, 2010, but redacted the recipients' email add!ascI, 

ineluding Buchanan's, as "non-responsive." VBFC 000361. After Buchanan's 

ciepo8ition, Respaadenls produced this doeumcnt in uorcdactcd Conn, revealing that the 

email WIll sen! to BuchaDan. 

Pacad with the illCOllSistlrllCies between Buchanan's testimony and tbat of tho other 

witnesses and recordll n:prNng then illllIIII, Hlsp;:edents __ lUI Buoblnlln's IIICIIIOII)' 

may baw ''impcltbmons" or c:onInins umlMr lillImOl)' lapses" tl1aI pertain to evatts years b.wlle. 

Resporuienlllliso CODImd Ibat these meonsisleneies and 1apses cue not meanin&fiil, ar.d they 

mate to legal activity. Reply Brief at ItS-lB. We do not insisttbatany witness have pcrfbc:t 

reeIIi1 of put events to be c:onaid=d c:n:dibJe. but "'" think that Buch8Jl8ll's inability to 

nmem.ber bas!e facts III to these uneontrovenial, routine issues detracts from his endibility. 

NcvcrthclesI, these inlxmsillencies on baclcpoand Issues de not ncceosarily show that Buchanan 

cIiIeeb:d Kazran to !eimburse contributions. 

VI. RESPONDENl'S' ARGUMENTS ARE NOT FACfUALLY ACC".JRA.TE 

While WI! de not, for the _ SIIIIed above, rec:ommcncIlindins probable -. "'" 

believe it is necessary to show 1bet Ihree arguments raised in tho ~y Brief cue fiIetuaIly 

iDc:omct. In tlIcIr bdef; Rapandents c:oatead dull. "fhree ralal O-S" JllCVab Commu.u.. 

from findIns probable eause in this matter: OOC (1) "relies exclusively on lite testimony of QIIe 

uardiablc wilDesslllld his Ielative, " (2) "eollVCllienUy cnnits exculpatory evideace that 

21 eontradiclll OOC's ultimate conclusion," and 0) "c:ontorta ~onplace, lawful tillldraising 

22 pmc:tieca into evidence ofwmngdoius." Reply Bricfat 1. 

23 

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MUR 6OS4 0 ...... 1 eaw.sel'. bport fl9(Ropretadlll .. V ....... G. Bu ........ " .".) 

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I A. OGe Re!i!I" Mare Thin Oae Wit!!tIIl IDd bil Relati!S 

2 

3 As diBCWIsed above, other wil11esacs, including Lepbart, Rosa, and Silveril>-1lC!lle of 

4 wbom are related to Kazran-gave testimony !hal W8I con.sistent with parts ofKazran~s 

testimony. As di!IC~ above, 10 some exlalt, Buchanan and his associates also corroborated 

6 aspccll ofKazran's testimony. 

7 Respondents ..en that Parid is IlIlI credible because he is Kaznn's brother·in-Iaw and 

8 pIIIInCr. Repiy Ibicf at 6-7. The faot that FIIlid ia !tar.ran'.lnothcr-in-law and bwIincu parlDDr 

9 does not III8ke Farid's SWDlP testimony inbll1'eotiy biuCll or lIIIIllIiablc, nor dI8III it affect IS 

10 cxaemto wIlillh Ihoremalodcr Qfthuvidal= may aupportl:s;am's (and Farid's) IeStimoJI)'. 

II Also, Respondents Idy significantly on an UDSwom email ftom BuchaDan's sister-in-law YvoMe 

12 Buchllllllll Slating that "We've never mmbuJSed anyone.· See Reply Brief at 1 S and VOB 002. 

13 Further, her statement was inac:curate because by the lime ofher email, there WIIS 110 dispute that 

14 VBFC!mew thai contributions at SunCouI FOld bad been reimbwsed. by the dealmship and 

IS subsequently re1imded by VBl'C at the direction of its treasurer. Acc:ordingly,It is hard to see 

16 why Ms. BuchaDan's email ataIementis significanl 

17 Rapondcnts abe coatead that Kam bIOS a substadtia1l1lC11ive to 1itbricate his tcstiIaoIlY 

18 to receive lenient tmIIUiInt Itoll tlIB CommiIoioR, llllviog ndmilled iUegal activity. Reply Brief 

19 at 3-4. Kazra has IlIlI ~vcd lenat IiraatmcDt fIom OOC, as "'" lllCOJDlllCltCW that Ihc 

20 Commission DI8ke bowing and wiJlfiII findings apiast KazraIl at dill RTB and Probabla CIIIIR 

21 stsael, and we recently recommended that the Commission sue Kaznn, whit:b it did. &e FEe Y. 

22 Sam Kt1mm lZIi/a Sam Klrazrawan, ,I ai" No. 3:10-cv-DlISS-UATC-JRK (M.D, Fla.) 

23 (complaint filed DeeeInber 17, 2010). We DOle that Buc:IuuuIII, a sitting R~, also has 

24 a moti\l1llion to /MIid a probable cause determination that he and bis committee violated tho AGI. 

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Respondents also seek to uncIemIt Kazran's testimony by citing allegations from 

2 Buchanan's lawsuit qainsl Kaznn and pending bankruptcy proc:eedings as truIh, even though 

these matlen are DOt final. Respondents allege that Kaznn's credibility is diminished because 

S 

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4 he did not repay a loan fiom Buchanan to Kazran and that Kaznn allegedly diverted funds 

intended for one dealership to support a diffi:n:nt dealenbip and for other JIUI1IOICS. See Reply 

Brief lit S-II. Litilllion between Buchm_ and "-an has been oJlllOins fM atIf!I NOli yean. 

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The Cmlllllinion i. in DO ~lIIsili .. to nIIIIIlvc 1111: aIlcptions In. thCllll -IR, IUId .for 1I1OW, 1lKnI. 

B. E&e".Wrr IaIgnpatIog Was DlacloHd to Respondents 

Respondents n=iYed exculpatory illfonnation, some in the OC's Brief, some in the 

depositions, and some &hortly before the December 9, 2010, probable C8\I!Ie hearing. 

J. Tite HNJ IlupoMB DocuIllUll 

M evId_ that BucbanaII was DOt Involved with the HNJ reimbursemems, Respondents 

RUed significantly on a Ii1aIemcnt in an unsworn doCWllellt Kazrau submitted to OGe styled as 

the HNJ Response to the Commission's Subpoata ("HNJ Response"). In Kmm's aiuwer III 

subpo_ quustion TI, Kmun mnits BuclIum's name liom I list ofHNJ pwtbm, offiom, and 

mDllaen .. lun he c1ahHi imew Ibm" the nlimburnt:d IIIDIributiOl1l. Yaaag Tr. at 9-10, 37; 

IINJ Response lit S. Kaznm submllmd.tbia document OQ a.:tober 2, 2009, whrch wu e!ter be 

stated during iuIaviews on July IS and 16,20011, that Buc:haDan insIructed him to relmlNrBc: 

conlributions and before he testified under oath during I deposition on November 6,2009. that 

bini to reimbunc contributioDS. Kaznn Depo at 13,21,37,72. 

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MUR 6OS4 0 ...... 1 eou-I'. ~ N' (l\epRs.nIlIII .. Vcmon a. Buc:haal. "d.) 

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We undemtand why Respondents might think Ibis WISWOrQ documenr is significant 

because they may be WI&WBR that we inte:viewed KaznII\ before he submitted thai stalemelll, 

and in that prior inll:rliew, he claimed that Buchanan dim:led the reimbursements at HNJ. 

Further, it is likely KazJan undeistood the zelevant question as rcfening only 10 current HNJ 

paIIners, not a past partner such II Buchanan. AccoIdingly, Ibis doC\IIDCnt is not slsnificant. 

I1Is a fill8l note. tte.pondants assert ilia! .... proviUd this clcJmulMnt two days bl=1ia the 

hearing, and thr.y _ IXlIItII:t. Ho_v .. , it .. an -vani&bt. we pulvill!ed tile c1ocu ... t 

immld_ly'lldlcu it was c:aJ1mI1O our atIQaIillll, and the Respoodcmts' jII'Omillll!li IDe: ofille 

document 8Ugesta that Ihey IUIfered lillie Iuum. 

2. I/Tformtltltm I,. 'M GC', Brie' and CoIIt.Plllofll MtUIe I,. 'M hply Brief 

Respcmdents COIlICnd that Ooc omit1ed signiS"""t exculpatory evidence from its Brief. 

Sa Reply Brief at 12. RcsponcIcnts c:ontend that Salva10rc Rosa's testimony thai Buc:hanIn 

directed him 10 reimburse a business partner's contribution in the early 2000's is not credible and 

that Rosa hils DOt WlII'ked for Rep. BuchaDaD for eight years. Reply Brief at 12-14. Ho_, 

OOC clearly identified 1M time period in which Rosa vruned Rep. Buchanan that reimbursing 

dea1cr.sbip IIIIIJIlo>"=, was iUepl,lIIl4 did IIIlt imply that Rosa kDcw onythins about the CIIIreIIt 

alleptiODI. MIIIaIWII,!hI: __ of liIIlilltiDllllills IIIIIhinB to do wUh wiIaJ BlIIIlemm _IV 

mmbursina COI:ItribuWm. wu il1epl, and lballamwlalse is relevant 10 the analysis ofwhethe: 

his alleged violations were IaIowing and wiUful. 

Respondenll also colllelld tIIIt Slater. Bucbaaan's former COO, provided wsigDificant 

exculpalol)' testimony." Reply Briefat IS-16. RespoadeDts' cbaracterization suggests that they 

view as exculpatory any paaon's teatimony - here, Slater's -that their OWD contriblllioDi 10 

FEC_MUR_6054_0794 

11-7565_0156 
176

2 

4 

S 

..t 6 .... 

14'1 7 POt 

..t 

!'1 8 v 9 q 10 0 

N 

..t 11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

MUR 6054 Gcnenl Co .... l·s Repon #9 (RepraenlatIYC VemDII O. Buchanlll" G/.) 

Pap 26 

VBFC \VCR not Jeimbursed or thai Bucbanan ... _ told them to reimbm1e eoolributions, 61' 

Hcaring Tr. II 10-11, even ifthcir<lonlributiOllJ an: Il0l111 issllC in tbill case. ReIpondents even 

8BSCItcd that Dennis Slater's opinion that "the mmbursement allegations smell like retribution 

rather than fact" is exculpatory evidence, which it is not. Hearing Tr. 111 II. iii Illy event, Slalcr 

was fC]lJCSented by BuchllDBll'sllltonn:y Ibr his dealerships during hill deposition ud B full 

transoript ofbis dooposilion testimony was provided to Respondents 111 the time we provided 

Respondents with OOC's brief. 

J. IrI/aI1f'ullJQII PrrlVidtJd to RuJlOlfdellll Prior to IIIIl Pl'fIbable Cau" Hearl", 

Just before the probable cause heariaa. we provided to R.espoadents three pieces of 

information obtained during informal interviews. Lcltcr dated December 9, 2010. We have 

already discussed one otthcsc pieces, which telates 10 a diffcrcnce betwec:o Silverio's interview 

and deposition testimony. Ru Sec:tion V.A., above. Wbile then: may be difIerences of opinion 

as to whether aIllhe material in the letter is exculpatory, we do not think !hat the information is 

particularly significant and, as already noted, R.cspondcnts used the information 111 the bearing. 

Another piece of iNomudion was B lllatement from lloIa's interview that he did not trust 

Karu. However, Reaprmdcnts ""III" for tb= ...... IhatRoaa hinuoJlf dIoaId not be bclievod, 

'" Reply Brillfll 12-14. 'Node DOIIhiIIlc tbatRoIII'. genenl imprcssionofSlm 1:'_1, 

particularly probative. 

Finally. the illfonnatlon provided fium Joseph Scarbrough's interview rcpnIing the 

~s ofhis belns n:imburaed by SunCoBSl Ford forllis contribution to VBFC was 

actually inculpatory. not cxc:ulpatory, because it impesc.hed his testimony (he appeared 10 

remember more during bis interview than at his c1eposition), and Rcsponc1ents relied on 

Scarbrough's testimony. 

FEC_MUR_6054_0795 

11-7565_0157 
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I 

2 

J 

4 

S 

6 

7 

N 

\'-. 8 

11\ 

"'" 9 .... 

I"l 

q' 10 '!I' 

0 11 N 

"'" 12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

17 

11 

19 

2() 

MUR 6054 Qcaeral Comucl's RoporIII9 (lIepn .... lllive Vema_ O. Buchanan It 1>1.) 

Pagc27· 

C. Lawful ha ........ ' Pneti .. Are No! Cited .. Evidence DfWruamloia, but 

Rather PmId' Be"'!!at Cgtgr 

Rapondcnts c:arm;tly point out that the following IClions are legal: solicitin8 business 

partnen for contributions, seeking oontribution "bundlers," trac:ldng contributors, focusing on 

quarterly reporting. and c:hoosing to raise funds from individuals instead of self-funding. See 

Reply Brief at 22-24. OGe did not allege that any of these pmctices constituted violations of the 

Act; rather. tbcy provide re1cvant bacltgmund. conltltt, __ ilorIIing details foc Jtauan's 

tealimony. and provided CllCRlpl .. ofinstanccs In which BllChazwI's testimony did nillt appcer to 

be _ or consistent, evea as to illDocul1llS and routine activity. 

VII. CONCLUSION 

The evidence in this case comes close to supporting a finding that it is more likely then 

not that Respondents violated both I§ 441 fane! 441a(f). However, new inforrneDon raises 

significant concerns regarding the credibility ofKazran. the principal witnesa in this case, and 

there is no testimony or documentary evidence sufficiently corroborating his teatimony that 

Buchanan illS!nlcted him to reimbunc employee contributions at HNl, a claim that Budlanin 

dill.'Ctly denies. Whilll th= is IVIIIC IIIher evidenGill in tim rccvAI tbat is consi-'_ with \tu!an's 

gencral ilIegutions, other evidCIIII:C npports Buc1l8aan's dMWs or is ambiguous. Acc:onIinsb.'. 

we r_d thnt the Ccmaillilullllke DO 1intbnr DCliaa apiat 1hC1114&'IJIOdenfal 

FEC_MUR_6054_0796 

11-7565_0158 
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2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

I\Il 9 

'" 10 ~., 11 .... 12 .... 

I\Il 13 

11;1' 14 o:r 15 

(i) 16 N 17 .... 18 

19 

·20 

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24 

2S 

26 

27 

28 

29 

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33 

34 

35 

36 

MUR6054 0 ...... 1 Ccunse!'s Report 19 (RepmOlllaU .. Vom •• O. B .......... ' Q/.) 

Poge28 

VIII, RECOMMENDATIONS 

1. 

2. 

Date 

Take no further aon 115 to Representative Vernon O. Buchanan, Vern Buchanan 

(or COIJ8lI=Is Ind Joseph GmIem, in his offiGial capacity III tRuum, alllh:loso 

the file III to these reapondeuts, 

Approve the appropriate leucrs. 

~ ~ 107.s..r~w": . "L-'_" H .. _.... .., .'*'- f'v .... ...... wlI1slo"..W _y 

Acting Genera1 Counael 

~&: Deputy Associate Counsel Cor Enforcement 

1V\W.OJL 

MadtAllen 

Assistaat General CoWlBei 

~-

Micbacl 

Attorney 

~ A. Columbo 

Attorney 

FEC_MUR_6054_0797 

11-7565_0159 
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EXHIBIT 10 
180

CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofR. Res. 895 as Amended 

TNRE 

REVIEW NO 

DATE 

LOCATION 

TIME: 

P ARTlClP ANTS 

OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 

UNITED ST ATES HOUSE OF REPRESENT A TIVES 

MEMORANDUM OF INTERVIEW 

Dennis Slater 

11-7565 

October 25,2011 

Lindell Investments Inc. 

402 Knights Run Ave. 

Tampa, FL 33602 

10:40 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. (approximate) 

Paul 1. Solis 

Kedric L. Payne 

SUMMARY: Dennis Slater (the "witness") is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of 

Lindell Investments Inc. OCE requested an interview with the witness and he consented to an 

interview. The witness made the following statements in response to our questioning: 

1. The witness was given an 18 U.s.c. § 1001 warning and consented to an interview. The 

witness signed a written acknowledgement of the warning, which will be placed in the 

case tile in this review. 

2. The witness is currently the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lindell 

Investments. He has been employed with the company for approximately one year. 

3. He was the Chief Operations Officer and Corporate Controller for the Buchanan 

Automotive Group ("BAG") from approximately 2003 to 2005. BAG consisted of 

approximately twelve automobile dealerships. 

4. He left BAG when Representative Vern Buchanan began selling his dealerships during 

his tirst congressional campaign. 

5. As COO and Controller, the witness was responsible for creating budgets and forecasts 

and interacting with the various dealerships. The Controllers for each dealership reported 

to the witness. 

6. The witness reported to Representative Vern Buchanan and John Tosch, who was Vice 

President and Chief Executive OffIcer for BAG. 

7. The witness tirst met Representative Buchanan when Carl Lindell introduced them to 

discuss a potential business relationship between Representative Buchanan and the 

witness. 

MOI- Page 1 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
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CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofR. Res. 895 as Amended 

8. The witness described the nature of his relationship with Representative Buchanan as a 

business relationship. 

9. When the OCE asked when the witness most recently communicated with Representative 

Buchanan, the witness paused for an exceptionally long period of time He then said that 

his most recent communication was eight or nine months ago. This communication 

occurred during an in-person meeting at the Sarasota Club. 

10. During the meeting, the witness and Representative Buchanan discussed Sam Kazran 

The witness told the OCE that he offered to talk with Mr. Kazran on behalf of 

Representative Buchanan to help resolve a "business dealing" between the two 

II. The witness has known Mr. Kazran since 2003 and would usually see him once per 

month when Mr. Kazran was an operating partner of one of the car dealerships. 

12. The business dealing was related to a car dealership where Mr Kazran defaulted on a 

loan. The witness told the OCE that Representative Buchanan had loaned Mr Kazran a 

substantial amount of money and Mr Kazran had di verted the funds and defaulted on the 

arrangement, yet Mr Kazran wanted more money from Representative Buchanan. The 

witness stated that he discussed with Mr Kazran the claims against Representative 

Buchanan and told Mr Kazran to move on. 

13. The witness stated that based on his understanding of the loan agreement, Representative 

Buchanan's description ofthe facts was correct and Mr Kazran's description ofthe facts 

was a "figment of his imagination." 

14. The witness also discussed with Mr Kazran his lawsuits against Bank of America and 

offered "fri endly advi ce" to him. 

15. The witness described Mr Kazran as a highly emotional person who "manufactures 

things in his mind." He stated that the automobile dealer business has a reputation for 

manipulation and that Mr Kazran fit that perfectly. 

16. The witness told the OCE that he first began acting as an intermediary between Mr 

Kazran and Representative Buchanan about a year and half ago after he offered to help. 

He stated that Representative Buchanan had no "malicious intent" towards Mr. Kazran. 

17. The witness told the OCE that Mr. Kazran is motivated by his need for $5 million to 

restart a dealership and that Mr. Kazran had asked the witness to reach out to others for 

the money. He needs this abnormal amount of money to start a dealership because "he 

had burned his bridges with everyone in the industry." 

18. The witness stated that the last time he spoke to Mr Kazran as eight to nine months ago. 

At that time, Representative Buchanan told the witness that he wasn't going to keep 

paying money to Mr Kazran although he was willing to help him as a "humanitarian." 

19. When asked why he made campaign contributions to Representative Buchanan in 2005, 

the witness told the OCE that he wanted to support Representative Buchanan and he was 

excited about him running for otlice. 

MOI- Page 2 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS 
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CONFIDENTIAL 

Subject to the Nondisclosure Provisions ofR. Res. 895 as Amended 

20. The witness was not directed to attend fundraisers or to make contributions to 

Representative Buchanan's campaign while at BAG business meetings. Campaign 

contributions were not a topic at the meetings. 

21. The witness stated that he attended eight to ten fundraisers for Representative Buchanan. 

22. The witness told the OCE that he "absolutely" did not receive any reimbursements for 

any contributions that he made to Representative Buchanan's campaign nor was he told 

by Representative Buchanan that he would get his money back. 

23. The witness told the OCE that he was familiar with Mr. Kazran's FEC deposition 

testimony, which states that Representative Buchanan asked the witness to contribute to 

his campaign and offered to reimburse the contribution. The witness stated that Mr. 

Kazran's statements in the deposition are false and that Representative Buchanan did not 

offer to reimburse him for a campaign contribution. The witness also stated that he did 

not solicit any contributions for Representative Buchanan's campaign 

24. The witness said he was not aware of anyone receiving reimbursements for campaign 

contributions and that he did not authorize anyone with the company to reimburse anyone 

for campaign contributions. 

25. He stated that he did not discuss the deposition testimony with Mr. Kazran. 

26. The witness did not have any ownership interest in any of the car dealerships affiliated 

with Representative Buchanan. 

27. He stated that he was not asked by Representative Buchanan to submit any type of 

affidavit 

28. The witness told the OCE that Mr. Kazran has never substantiated his allegations. He 

knew all the individuals that were allegedly involved and if there were any financial 

misdealing, it would have been the witness' responsibility, and he has never been 

implicated. 

This memorandum was prepared on November 29, 20 II, based on the notes that the OCE staff 

prepared during the interview with the witness on October 25,20 I I I certify that this 

memorandum contains all pertinent matter discussed with the witness on October 25,20 II. 

Kedri c L. Payne 

Deputy Chief Counsel 

MOI- Page 3 of3 OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS