Authorities have arrested former Storm Lake auto dealer owner Dan Winchell on multiple felony charges tied to the collapse of the Holzhauer dealerships.
Winchell, 64, was booked Monday into the Cherokee County Jail.
He faces two counts of ongoing criminal conduct and four counts of first‑degree theft. The Iowa Department of Transportation has filed identical charges in both Buena Vista and Cherokee counties, alleging Winchell withheld title and registration fees and sold vehicles without repaying bank loans.
Investigators say Winchell kept tax, title, and registration payments from customers last summer instead of forwarding them to county treasurers. In some cases, customers ended up paying those fees twice.
The DOT also alleges Winchell sold vehicles “out of trust,” pocketing proceeds without repaying loans from Citizens First National Bank of Storm Lake and other lenders. Court records show Holzhauer dealerships sold at least 80 vehicles without reimbursing Citizens, which later won a judgment against Winchell in Cherokee County District Court.
The dealerships—Holzhauer Motors, Holzhauer Ford Cherokee, and Holzhauer Ford Storm Lake—closed last fall amid lawsuits claiming more than $15 million in unpaid loans. Creditors liquidated the Ford dealerships through bankruptcy, while Citizens secured additional judgments totaling millions against Winchell and Holzhauer corporate entities.
A preliminary hearing in the criminal cases has not yet been scheduled. Winchell has appealed one civil judgment through his attorney, Michael Kuehner of Des Moines. No attorney has filed an appearance for him in the DOT’s criminal cases.
