JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Rolls-Royces, Lamborghinis, and Porsches — these are just some of the high-end vehicles tied to a growing fraud investigation involving a Jacksonville dealership that customers say left them out hundreds of thousands of dollars.
New details are emerging in the case against Bul Auto, a luxury car dealership on Beach Boulevard, which abruptly shut down operations. Its owner, Vladimir Ranguelov, is now at the center of a multi-state investigation involving millions of dollars in alleged losses.
Ranguelov, who also operated a second Bul Auto location in Albany, New York, and was a partner with luxury car brand Karma based in Irvine, California, has not been seen publicly in days.
Karma has since suspended its relationship with Ranguelov and Bul Auto, citing concerns over the mounting accusations.
Both dealerships are now under scrutiny, with customers, banks, and lenders scrambling to recover vehicles and funds. Scenes of tow trucks hauling away exotic cars played out at both locations last week.
Videos obtained by News4JAX show police and bank representatives on site attempting to seize vehicles believed to have been sold multiple times or used as collateral for fraudulent loans.
In one case, a Jacksonville customer who requested anonymity said he lost $260,000 after purchasing a 2022 McLaren. While at the dealership, he learned that another person had purchased a vehicle with the same vehicle identification number (VIN). He also described watching representatives from Karma search the lot for 10 vehicles — and only finding five.
A bank representative on-site was reportedly looking for two financed Lamborghinis that had gone missing.
In New York, customer Michael Abatecola said he is owed $250,000 for a Lamborghini he never received. In a video interview, he described how Ranguelov allegedly sold the same vehicle to two people, and neither took possession.
“He got $100,000 selling one car two times,” Abatecola said. “Neither one of us has it.”
Abatecola has since turned to social media to connect with other victims. He said Ranguelov continued selling vehicles up until the final days of business, all while ignoring phone calls from concerned buyers.
“He strung me along, playing ‘Hey buddy, hey buddy,’” a victim told Abatecola on video. “He was still trying to get me to buy more cars, right up until the weekend he stopped answering.”
Customers say Ranguelov built trust within luxury car enthusiast communities — relationships that are now central to what victims are calling a betrayal.
A Jacksonville customer told the News4JAX I-TEAM that a detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office told him the scope of the alleged fraud is far greater than initially suspected.
News4JAX has confirmed that the FBI is now involved in the investigation.