CEO Accused of Fraud Forced to Auction Exquisite Car Collection

Former millionaire and ex-owner/CEO of Interlogic Outsourcing Najeeb Khan has been forced to sell off his entire car collection after declaring bankruptcy last year. Accusations of fraud from former clients and businesses partners really put Mr. Khan through the financial wringer. Multiple lawsuits claim the company failed to hand clients’ tax money over to the Internal Revenue Service — encouraging Khan to sell his business to Pennsylvania-based payroll firm PrimePay. While that certainly sounds suspicious, any determinations on his guilt are best left to the professionals.

Since Khan’s company has little to do with the automotive sphere, we’re not overly concerned with the details of the alleged monetary malfeasance, anyway. The important issue, from our perspective, is he now has to sell off his remaining assets. That includes investments made into various businesses, multi-million-dollar homes, and 281 vehicles — many of which are highly valuable and incredibly rare.

Referenced in an article from the the South Bend Tribune in November of 2019, Khan reportedly got into contact with RM Sotheby’s and other auction houses to begin plotting the sale of a collection valued around $31 million. That arrangement has been finalized for a while; however, complications stemming from the global pandemic stalled their entry onto Sotheby’s website up until recently.

Known as the Elkhart Collection, the sale encompasses 230 cars, 30 motorcycles, some trucks, excavation equipment, a few military vehicles, and more collectible automotive paraphernalia than any single person could ever truly enjoy. Even the spare parts list is mind boggling. Want a brand new Dodge Demon hood? How about an engine for a Jaguar D-Type? Interested in some loose Ferrari components? Fresh Jaguar XJ220 Pirelli P Zero tires piquing your interest?

They’re all up for grabs, sans reserve, and but a paltry sampling of the automotive buffet Sotheby’s named after the town where Mr. Khan ran his business and stored his collection.

Speaking of cars, that’s the best part of the Elkhart Collection. Khan’s taste definitely favored a specific era (’50s to ’60s) and skews European, though there’s no shortage of magnificent models from all periods and continents. The group ranges from a 1903 Clément 12/16 HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau to a 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport R80.

Your author is particularly enamored with an adorable little 1993 Suzuki Carry imported from Japan. Enthusiast will probably gravitate toward the more flashy inclusions, like Khan’s Jaguar XJ220 hailing from the same year. Too modern? Don’t worry, five seconds of browsing through the throng of vehicles is all it takes to find something that’ll scratch you under the chin. Here’s a not-so random sampling:

1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 GT Veloce

Despite skipping over everything that won’t elicit involuntarily, positive sounds from our readers, we’re not even halfway through the alphabet and I’ve already realized I’m going to have to tell you about the insane number of continuation and original Jaguar models Mr. Khan had in storage. It also feels wrong to skip the “lesser” models included in the Elkhart Collection. Among the ultra-desirable cars (a lot of which have twins and individual lots for all their spare parts) were four Ford Coritina Lotus Mk1s, tons of vintage Fiats, several Hudson Hornets, Lotus products galore, and a bunch of Austin-era Minis.

But if you want to hear about the 1958 Zündapp Janus 250 or 1945 Willys MB, you’ll have to check the collection for yourself. It’s massive and is beset on all sides by vintage items you can either use to maintain these vehicles or spruce up the garage. A lot of that stuff should be pretty reasonable, but you might even snag yourself a new car, as almost everything is available without reserve. Fortunately, Sotheby’s doesn’t plan on auctioning anything off until October 23rd (10:00 AM GMT), all thanks to the coronavirus — giving you plenty of time to browse.

[Images: RM Sotheby’s]