Surjeet Bassi is suing a car dealership for $1.2 mn as the manager allegedly racially profiled him for belonging to ‘high-risk area’
New York: An Indian-American has sued a New Jersey car dealership for $1.26 million, alleging it refused to sell him a swanky Mercedes Benz because the manager thought he came from a “high-risk area” and he might ship the vehicle to the Taliban.
Surjeet Bassi, 50, claims the manager at Prestige Motors told him that he came from a “high-risk area” where people buy cars and export them to the Taliban. Bassi, who has lived in New Jersey for 30 years, said he told the manager he is Indian and not connected to the Islamic fundamentalist organisation, NJ.com quoted from the federal lawsuit. Spokeswoman Theresa V Boylan said in a statement, “As a company, we do not condone discriminatory practices or conduct. Out of respect for the process and all parties, it is our policy not to comment on pending legal matters.”
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Bassi said he wanted to trade his Mercedes-Benz ML350 for a newer model. He claims he had negotiated the price, passed a credit check and charged $1,000 to his card for a down payment. But that was when the manager called him and said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t sell you the car,’ and then explained why.
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