DOJ sues California towing company for auctioning off US military members' vehicles

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against California-based S&K Towing, Inc., accusing the company of illegally auctioning off vehicles owned by US servicemembers in violation of federal law.

According to the DOJ, the San Clemente towing company sold or otherwise disposed of as many as 148 vehicles belonging to military personnel between August 28, 2020, and April 15, 2025. Many of the vehicles were reportedly towed from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Federal prosecutors allege that S&K failed to comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which requires towing companies to obtain a court order before selling or disposing of a vehicle owned by a protected servicemember. The DOJ noted that S&K’s contract with Camp Pendleton required the company to follow all applicable state and federal laws.

“Towing companies must respect and abide by the federal laws that protect members of our Armed Forces,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Dhillon said servicemembers are often away for long stretches because of training or deployment and may not even know their vehicle has been towed.

She added that the SCRA is intended to ensure troops receive basic legal protections, including notice and the opportunity to have towing and storage fees adjusted while they are serving.

First Assistant US Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California said servicemembers “deserve peace of mind” that their legal rights will be protected while they are away serving the country. “It is unacceptable for a business to sell or dispose of servicemembers’ vehicles without abiding by the laws that protect servicemembers,” Essayli said.

The DOJ also alleged that S&K was explicitly warned about the issue in May 2024, when a Military Legal Assistance attorney contacted the company and explained that it was violating the SCRA. According to the lawsuit, a manager at S&K responded: “We do this all the time.”

Despite that warning, the company allegedly continued selling and disposing of vehicles belonging to protected servicemembers without first obtaining court orders. Prosecutors say some of the vehicles were registered to Camp Pendleton addresses, while others were auctioned even after the company had allegedly been informed that the owner was in the military.

The case is being handled by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section and the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Since 2011, the Justice Department says it has secured more than $484 million in monetary relief for over 149,000 servicemembers through SCRA enforcement.