Chrysler exec faces tax, loan troubles
Lien placed on Deputy CEO Jim Press' home for nearly $1 million in unpaid taxes -- and he's also sued for unpaid loans.
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| Chrysler Deputy Chief Executive Jim Press |
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A top executive for Chrysler Group, the carmaker that recently went through a government-sponsored bankruptcy, is having more than $1.4 milliion of his own financial headaches.
Jim Press, Chrysler's deputy chief executive, has had a lien for $947,409 placed on his home by the Internal Revenue Service, according to records from Oakland County, Mich., clerk's office.
The lien against a house in the city of Birmingham, Mich., is for non-payment of 2007 taxes.
Press is also being sued for $467,083, plus attorneys' fees, by the Western Federal Credit Union for unpaid loans plus interest and late fees.
Western Federal absorbed the Toyota Federal Credit Union and, according to a letter Press wrote to the credit union, asked Press to the pay off the loan.
"Due to the turmoil in the automobile industry and uncertainty surrounding our ownership, my request for a bonus payment was denied," Press wrote in a Nov. 11, 2008, letter on Chrysler letterhead. "I am attempting to arrange for a loan against my future bonus with my employer which would allow me to pay this loan off."
Press also wrote that he had asked for loans from two banks and attempted to re-finance his home in order to pay off the debt, but was unsuccessful.
After that request, Press was given additional time to pay $609,286 he owed the credit union, but made only one payment of $203,000.
Press's home is now for sale, according to an online listing posted by a local Sotheby's Internation Realty agency. The asking price for the 6-bedroom, 6-bath "New England style" home is $3.2 million, according to the listing. A call the real estate agent wasn not immediately returned.
Wallace Handler, Press's attorney in the credit union case, declined to comment.
Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment on the cases, saying they are "a personal matter."
Press joined Chrysler as vice chairman and co-president in September 2007, shortly after the carmaker was taken over by the private equity from Cerberus Capital Management.
After Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy last June, Press was named deputy chief executive officer and special adviser, reporting to Chrysler's new CEO, Sergio Marchionne of Fiat. Press had been head of Toyota's U.S. operations; he worked for Toyota since 1970. 
