Motorex owner JAILED!

Motorex owner JAILED!

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the owner of Motorex, Nanahoshi Hiroaki, 33, was arrested Thursday and booked into the L.A. County Jail. He is being held on $1 Million bail.

Hiroaki's initial appearance is scheduled for Wednesday of this week.

Hiroaki and Motorex came to the recognition of Nissan enthusiasts in the US as they became the only Registered Importer legally authorized to legalize Skylines for US use. As Motorex was able to comply with stringent US crash-testing requirements, they petitioned the courts to protect their interest in the Skyline market by "locking out" other would-be importers from the list of necessary modifications.

Not only did this give Motorex a corner on the market for legal Skylines, it also allowed them to command a premium price for each legalized car. Motorex-prepped Skylines can fetch upwards of $50,000. While making loads of money, Motorex also made loads of enemies.

According to sources, the lease to the Motorex facility has been overdue for months, and is now locked out by the landlord.
The US Department of Transportation has offically rescinded importation eligibility for both the R32 and R34 Skylines, only 96-98 R33 Skylines are still eligible to be imported.

http://nicoclub.com/news.shtml


more:
Motorex asserted that R32 / R33 / R34's were 'all the same' from the standpoint of certifying them for the US. In truth, each version need to be tested and federalized. He duped the Feds (allegedly). Certification for R32's & R34's has been rescinded.


and still more:
Hiro's been thrown in jail on 'apparantly' unrelated charges. Here is a site that a lawyer/friend of mine threw together three days ago when we first found out about it (he has been dealing with the MotoRex mess for YEARS http://thenittygrittyfiles.org/hirofiles
The charges are:
Attempted Extortion
Attempted Kidnapping
Assault w/ Deadly Weapon
Assault w/ Stun Gun or Taser
Threatening a Witness.
By the way, MotoRex lost its status as a Registered Importer a very long time ago. Their website and their facility in CA was turned over to C-West USA some months back.

info taken from here: http://forums.clubsi.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=6588555&an=0&page=0

Wow. So C West can still do it, but only for 96-98 r33?

apparently so.


if i see anything else i'll post it up.


more arrest info: http://app4.lasd.org/iic/details.cfm?qwert='.2$^S??DQ@

over here in texas to legalize a skyline is $3000

ya...that's not surprising. this guy ripped people off...but people paid him because he was the biggest name out there.

Texas also has some of the least stringent emissions and safety regulations in the country, whereas California has the most stringent.

his bail was $1M - i honestly wonder if someone had that available for him...

laffo, skylines aren't that great anyways

Skylines? I don't either...yeah, they're rare...they quick...but it's just like the Supra...over-done.

Personally give me something completely different that requires work.

...ahem...the guy should be jailed...you shouldn't ask for a monopoly...that destroys competition. Shame.

agreed...

Exactly...and it destroys the basic idea of competition in a free market.

damn that sucks for the guy but well that's what you get for trying to rip people off and yes I agree skylines are overrated

he is probably a yakuza.. but there have been many other lesser known companies importing and legalizing skylines, silvias, and other JDM cars so this is not the end of the world.