Karma Automotive Dealer Principal Vladimir Ranguelov joined Karma Automotive President Marques McCammon at the opening of the Jacksonville dealership in March 2024. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on September 2, 2025 at 12:26 pm
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The owner of an exotic-car dealership in Jacksonville has been arrested on charges of fraud and dealing in stolen property after complaints from customers in Florida, the Sheriff’s Office says.
The arrest follows police investigations into fraud and resale of exotic cars at Karma Jacksonville as well as a dealership the owner ran near Albany, New York, officials said
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Vladimir Anguelov Ranguelov, owner of the closed Karma Automotive dealership on Beach Boulevard, turned himself in to Jacksonville police Aug. 27 on a warrant. The dealership’s sales manager, Igor Westerman, was arrested the day before on charges of dealing in stolen property and obtaining vehicles with intent to defraud, his arrest report says.
Both men bonded out Aug. 27, jail records show.
Ranguelov officially opened Jacksonville’s 17,000-square-foot Karma dealership in early March last year, saying he spent more than $5 million to buy and convert a former furniture store at 11619 Beach Blvd. into the dealership. He planned to sell EV automaker Karma Automotive’s luxury electric vehicles and other exotic cars.
In June, three people filed police reports about issues with the dealership, claiming title forgery or fraudulent vehicle sales. An arrest report stated that their combined loss was almost $1 million.
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That included one man’s purchase of a rare 2019 Corvette ZR1 for $235,000. He was unable to find it or Ranguelov when he got to the Beach Boulevard dealership, the arrest report said. The car is now locked away pending civil and criminal proceedings, the report said.
Customers who bought other vehicles, including a 2022 McLaren 720S, 2023 Range Rover Porsche 911 and a 1994 Porsche 911, also had problems getting them after purchase, or completing their resale to someone else, the report said.
Ranguelov’s operation in Jacksonville, and its sister dealership — Bul Auto Sales in Colonie, N.Y. — are both shut down. Police in the New York community near Albany also were investigating complaints against Bul, with multiple lawsuits filed against him, according to News Channel 13, WNYT-TV.
Karma Automotive, which was selling its electric luxury cars at the Jacksonville dealership, suspended its relationship with Ranguelov. Neither Karma nor Ranguelov would respond to multiple requests for comment.
Arraignment is set for Sept. 17 for Ranguelov, who was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring system, his court files show. Westerman’s arraignment is set for the same day.
