A Fridley used car dealership is under fire from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office for allegedly misrepresenting the quality of vehicles it sold along with dishonest service contracts and high interest rates, according to a new lawsuit filed this week by Attorney General Keith Ellison.

The dealership, Midwest Car Search, and its owner, Scott Spiczka, were named in the lawsuit, which seeks to provide restitution for customers and to stop the alleged illegal business practices of the dealership.

“This is a long-term systematic pattern of deception targeting Minnesotans, often, but not always, with limited English language skills,” Ellison said at a Tuesday news conference at the state Capitol.

Spiczka and his business are accused of fraudulently selling more than 3,000 vehicles to Minnesotans from 2017 to 2022 that it claimed were certified. The lawsuit alleges the business illegally required customers to purchase service contracts up to $1,800. Those illegal contracts add up to about $4.5 million, according to the attorney general.

For a dealership to advertise a car as certified, the car must have been inspected for any deficiencies, must be sold with a warranty, and must not have sustained any damage that impairs safety, according to Minnesota statute. The investigation by Ellison’s office found that none of the 3,245 cars sold by Midwest Car Search were certified.

Henry Holmes, a man who purchased a vehicle from Midwest Car Search at a 22% interest rate, said he was told by the dealership that they would not be able to fix the myriad issues with the car, which included a bad exhaust manifold, exhaust gasket, tie rods and strut assemblies, despite Holmes purchasing a warranty from the dealer.

“I felt used, so I called the attorney general because I can’t see letting people get away with stuff like that and using the elderly people and the people that don’t understand what they are talking about,” Holmes, 77, of Minneapolis, said Tuesday.

The lawsuit is the attorney general’s first after the Legislature strengthened Minnesota’s Used Car Law last year, though the lawsuit targets the dealership’s business both before and after those changes.

The dealership is also accused of advertising in Spanish and presenting Spanish-speaking salespeople but giving people contracts in English to sign that did not represent the promises made during the negotiation.

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Had he been healthy, Brooks Lee likely would have debuted and seen plenty of action on the left side of the infield at this point of the season with both Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis nursing injuries. Instead, Lee is dealing with an injury of his own — one that will likely keep him out another month.

Initially called back spasms when he was removed from a spring training game in late March, the Twins revealed Tuesday that the top prospect’s injury has instead been diagnosed as a herniated disk in his back.

“I’d say he’s in the same midrange of what we heard is the return-to-play protocol,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “He’s almost a month into the first part of the problem. Then, the next month is building back into baseball. So you’re looking at that kind of timeline would be my guess.”

Lee is being treated by specialist Dr. Robert Watkins, and Falvey said he is in the middle of Watkins’ protocol for returning to play.
Lee has started doing very light baseball-type activity, Falvey said, taking light swings.

“With this, you’ve just got to get it taken care of on the front end and then make sure when you’re building him up, you’re building him up pretty slowly,” Falvey said.

It’s tough timing, especially because Lee, the No. 17 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, is coming off an impressive spring at the plate. The Twins have been using a combination of Willi Castro and Kyle Farmer, both off to slow starts, at third base and shortstop with Jose Miranda mixing in at third base.

Rehabbing relievers

Jhoan Duran began a rehab assignment on Tuesday night in St. Paul, and Justin Topa is right on his heels. The two Twins relievers have been on the injured list all season, but both are almost ready to return,

Topa, who was dealing with patellar tendinitis in his left knee, threw around 20 pitches on Tuesday at Target Field. It was his first live batting practice — previously he had thrown two regular bullpens and one with Royce Lewis standing in, tracking pitches.

Next, he plans to head over to St. Paul and begin a rehab assignment Thursday. He expects to throw for the Saints on Sunday, too.

“I kind of lightly penciled in the L.A. series as kind of the goal to be back,” Topa said of the upcoming weekend series in Anaheim. “I think we kind of knew going into it, talking with the doc, talking with (head athletic trainer) Nick (Paparesta) and everybody, that was kind of the plan. Let’s give it some time to calm down for a couple weeks, build up after that, and I think we’re pretty much on track with what we initially thought it was.”

Briefly

— Starter Brent Headrick is on the minor league injured list with a forearm strain, and the Twins recently transferred him to the 60-day injured list in the minors. “It’s just going to take some time to build back up,” Falvey said.

— Matt Canterino, also on the minor league injured list with a shoulder injury, has started throwing between 40-60 feet.

The Minnesota Timberwolves ownership dispute is moving into mediation.

The first session toward determining whether Glen Taylor will remain controlling owner or cede to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez has been scheduled for May 1, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the details were not being publicized. ESPN first reported the news.

The 82-year-old Taylor announced March 28 that he was exercising his right to pull out of the last part of the unusually structured deal because Lore and Rodriguez did not meet the deadline for the final payment — about $600 million — that was to transfer an additional 40% stake of the club.

Lore and Rodriguez vehemently disagreed. The pair said they were waiting on NBA approval for the paperwork they’d submitted by the March 27 deadline that entitled them, per the contract, to a 90-day extension. They accused Taylor of simply having seller’s remorse because the value of the Timberwolves has increased since the agreement, mirroring a continued spike in NBA revenues.

Taylor acknowledged his change of heart last month but said that was because of the good vibes around the organization during a 56-26 season that went down as the second-best in franchise history.

“We’ve got a really good team, we’ve got a lot of good things going for us, I enjoy it and I’m healthy enough to do this,” Taylor said in an interview with the AP after his announcement. “I don’t need the money, so I think I’ll just keep running it and enjoy it. I like my coach. I like my staff. This way everybody gets to keep their jobs, and I’ll be happy.”

Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month that the league likely would not have a reason to intervene in the dispute.

Lore, an e-commerce entrepreneur, and Rodriguez, the former Major League Baseball star, struck an agreement with Taylor in 2021 to buy the Timberwolves and the Minnesota Lynx WNBA franchise for $1.5 billion. Taylor, who bought the team in 1994 for $88 million, set up the deal in phases so he could serve as a mentor of sorts to the newcomers as they learned the league, the organization and the Twin Cities community. Lore and Rodriguez together own 36% of the club.

Silver said the dispute might prompt the NBA to change its rules around such transactions so as to avoid future conflicts.

Taylor, Lore and Rodriguez were seen speaking cordially Saturday in a side hallway at Target Center after Minnesota beat Phoenix in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

Taylor sat next to his wife in their usual seats Tuesday next to the Timberwolves bench for Game 2. Lore and Rodriguez were seated with their guests directly across the court.

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