Biden's Pentagon spent four years lecturing Marines about pronouns while military property laws went unenforced at home.
A California company with a contract inside Camp Pendleton just found out what happens when Trump’s Justice Department starts asking questions.
When the federal attorney hung up, the manager had no idea those words would end his business.
How a Towing Company Used a Camp Pendleton Contract to Auction Active Duty Vehicles
S&K Towing had a contract with Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton – the largest Marine installation on the West Coast – to respond to towing calls made by base police.
When a Marine deploys overseas, his car stays on base. If it's parked wrong or registration lapses, base police call S&K. Instead of holding the vehicle, S&K auctioned it off – pocketing the proceeds while the owner was downrange with no way to respond.
From August 2020 through April 2025, the San Clemente company did this to as many as 148 vehicles belonging to active-duty servicemembers.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires a court order before selling or disposing of a servicemember's vehicle. The law exists because deployed troops cannot show up to a lien sale from a forward operating base in the Middle East.
S&K's contract with Camp Pendleton required compliance with all applicable federal and state laws. The Justice Department says the company built no compliance procedures, conducted no military status checks, and trained no one on the federal law it was contractually required to follow.
Some vehicles were registered to Camp Pendleton barracks addresses. Others went to auction after S&K was told the owner was deployed. Some still had military uniforms, equipment, and service awards inside.
DOJ Settlement Forces Company Shutdown After SCRA Violations Spanning Five Years
In May 2024, a Military Legal Assistance attorney from Camp Pendleton contacted S&K – by letter and by phone – and told the company it was violating federal law.
The manager's response: "We do this all the time."
The auctions continued.
After the DOJ filed suit in March 2026, S&K Towing settled for $160,000 – every dollar going directly to the servicemembers whose vehicles were taken.
S&K is now shutting down. If it ever re-enters the towing business, SCRA-compliant policies must be in place before a single car gets touched.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon made clear this settlement applies to every towing company in America:
"For far too long, tow companies have sold or disposed of servicemembers' vehicles in violation of federal law. This settlement sends a strong message that all towing companies must recognize servicemembers' rights and take the necessary steps to comply with the SCRA."
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli:
"Members of the U.S. Armed Forces have a legal right to be protected while they serve our nation overseas. This settlement will provide compensation to impacted service members and serves as notice to all businesses to comply with federal laws that protect our military."
Towing Companies Near Military Bases Have Stolen Servicemember Vehicles for Years
S&K is not the first. In 2023, the DOJ sued a towing company operating near Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for running the same scheme.
The company sold a deployed corporal's SUV at auction while claiming it had no way to confirm his military status – this despite a Marine Corps decal on the windshield, photos of the owner in uniform visible in the center console, and 16 service patches attached to the interior roof.
The Defense Department makes it easy to avoid exactly this. Towing companies have access to the Defense Manpower Data Center database, which confirms active-duty status in minutes. S&K had access to it. The DOJ says it never used it.
Since 2011, the Justice Department's SCRA enforcement has recovered more than $489 million for over 152,000 servicemembers – a figure that measures how long this has been happening and how many troops had to fight for property that was taken while they served.
Trump's DOJ is the one forcing these companies to pay.
Dhillon's Civil Rights Division made protecting military property rights a top enforcement priority in April 2025 – and the S&K settlement is that priority in action.
The Marine comes home from a war zone to an empty parking spot. A California company sold his car while he was overseas. Dhillon's DOJ just made sure it cost them.
Sources:
- "Justice Department Settles with California Towing Company for Illegally Auctioning Servicemembers' Vehicles," U.S. Department of Justice, July 14, 2026.
- "DOJ Sues California Towing Company for Illegally Auctioning Servicemembers' Vehicles," U.S. Department of Justice, March 25, 2026.
- Gary Warner, "US Prosecutors Sue Towing Company for Selling Dozens of Vehicles Taken from Camp Pendleton," Stars and Stripes, March 26, 2026.
- "Feds Sue Towing Company for Allegedly Illegally Auctioning Off Troops' Cars," Military Times, March 26, 2026.
- "Justice Department Releases New Resources to Protect Servicemembers' Rights," U.S. Department of Justice, May 14, 2025.
