A former finance director has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Morgan Auto Group, one of the largest privately held dealership chains in the country, accusing the Florida company of systematically defrauding car buyers through hidden charges, worthless warranty products, and a sales tactic known as “payment packing.” The suit was filed in December 2025 in Hillsborough County, Florida, and lands alongside a separate March 2026 warning letter from the Federal Trade Commission about deceptive pricing at several Morgan dealerships.
Who Filed the Lawsuit
Jason Mirabito, a former finance director at Morgan Auto Group, filed the complaint on December 5, 2025 in Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit. The case is captioned Mirabito v. Morgan Auto Group, LLC, & Sarasota L Automotive Management, LLC (Case No. 25-CA-006252).1GlobeNewsWire. Consumer Fraud Alert: Whistleblower Suit Against Morgan Auto Group Details Widespread Practices Defrauding Florida Car Buyers
Mirabito was hired in 2022. According to the complaint, he was fired in August 2024 in retaliation after objecting to the company’s sales practices and requesting an internal audit of accounting deficiencies tied to chargebacks.1GlobeNewsWire. Consumer Fraud Alert: Whistleblower Suit Against Morgan Auto Group Details Widespread Practices Defrauding Florida Car Buyers
What the Complaint Alleges
The core allegation is “payment packing.” The complaint describes finance staff folding products into a customer’s monthly payment without the buyer’s knowledge or consent, so that customers ended up paying for items they never agreed to buy and in some cases did not know were part of the deal.1GlobeNewsWire. Consumer Fraud Alert: Whistleblower Suit Against Morgan Auto Group Details Widespread Practices Defrauding Florida Car Buyers
The specific products the suit says were bundled into deals this way include:
- GAP and GAP+ coverage, insurance meant to cover the gap between a totaled vehicle’s value and the remaining loan balance
- EquityShield, marketed as equity protection
- AutoPayPlus, a debit-based payment program
- Permaplate and Crystal Fusion, paint and glass protection products
- Factory wrap VSC, a vehicle service contract
Beyond packing these products into payments, the complaint alleges Morgan dealerships sold warranty agreements that provided “little to no protection to the consumers” and used billing practices designed to “drive up the cost of vehicles to increase profits.”1GlobeNewsWire. Consumer Fraud Alert: Whistleblower Suit Against Morgan Auto Group Details Widespread Practices Defrauding Florida Car Buyers
An Internal Message Quoted in the Suit
The complaint quotes an internal communication it attributes to a manager at the dealership group: “We can’t fight the elderly. Take what we can get…We know buyers are liars. Just can’t have major heat…We get over on the other 98%.”1GlobeNewsWire. Consumer Fraud Alert: Whistleblower Suit Against Morgan Auto Group Details Widespread Practices Defrauding Florida Car Buyers
Which Dealerships Are Named
The complaint specifically references several locations operating under the Morgan Auto Group umbrella: Audi Tampa, BMW Sarasota, Jaguar Land Rover of Sarasota, and Honda of Sarasota. Since the filing, the plaintiff’s firm, Duffie Law, has said it has been contacted by additional current and former Morgan employees describing similar experiences at other locations.1GlobeNewsWire. Consumer Fraud Alert: Whistleblower Suit Against Morgan Auto Group Details Widespread Practices Defrauding Florida Car Buyers
The FTC Warning Letter
On March 11, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission sent Morgan Auto Group a warning letter about potentially deceptive vehicle pricing. Signed by Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, the letter advised the company that it “may be advertising prices for cars that are lower than what you actually charge consumers.”2Federal Trade Commission. Warning Letter to Morgan Auto Group, LLC
The FTC flagged several practices as potentially illegal under Section 5 of the FTC Act:
- Advertising prices that exclude required fees
- Advertising prices that incorporate rebates or discounts not available to all buyers
- Failing to account for required down payments in advertised prices
- Conditioning advertised prices on the use of dealer financing
- Requiring customers to buy add-on products not reflected in the listed price
- Advertising vehicles that are unavailable or do not exist
The letter named six Morgan dealerships: Arrigo Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Sawgrass, Arrigo Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM West Palm Beach, Brandon Honda, Brandon Mitsubishi, Honda of Sarasota, and Westshore Honda.2Federal Trade Commission. Warning Letter to Morgan Auto Group, LLC Morgan was one of 97 dealership groups nationwide to receive a letter in the same FTC action. The agency stated that the letters were not a finding that any recipient had broken the law, but that it would “take additional action as warranted.”3Federal Trade Commission. FTC Warns 97 Auto Dealership Groups About Deceptive Pricing
Consumer Complaints Echoing the Allegations
Better Business Bureau records for at least one Morgan-branded store offer some parallels to the lawsuit’s claims. Morgan Chevrolet in Tampa had 13 complaints filed over three years as of mid-2026, with four closed in the preceding 12 months.4Better Business Bureau. Morgan Chevrolet Complaints
A December 2025 complaint alleged the dealership added roughly $4,000 in “discretionary fees falsely labeled as government charges” to a contract. The customer said a salesperson told them, “I gotta make money off you somehow I will on the financing,” and claimed the dealership blocked the use of outside financing. In its response, the dealership argued that the “legally controlling financing terms are those contained in the Retail Installment Sale Contract.”4Better Business Bureau. Morgan Chevrolet Complaints
A separate May 2025 complaint alleged a technician fabricated a video inspection claiming a vehicle needed brakes, rotors, and a battery that had recently been serviced. According to the customer, a manager said the technician was terminated because “he did it to a lot of customers.” Morgan Chevrolet’s response stated that the technician was no longer with the company “due to unrelated internal concerns.”4Better Business Bureau. Morgan Chevrolet Complaints
Where the Case Stands
As of mid-2026, the Mirabito lawsuit remains pending in Hillsborough County. Morgan Auto Group has not publicly commented on the substance of the allegations. The FTC’s warning letter, as the agency itself stated, is not a legal conclusion that Morgan violated any law; it is a notice that the practices described could draw enforcement if they continue.
If you believe you were affected by the practices described in the suit, your paperwork is the place to start. Compare the products and fees on your Retail Installment Sale Contract against what you agreed to purchase, and look in particular for GAP or GAP+ coverage, EquityShield, AutoPayPlus, Permaplate or Crystal Fusion, or a factory wrap vehicle service contract that you do not remember buying.