Kruse International, the embattled collector car auction company based in Auburn, has announced it is partnering with Chase Bank to provide a system guaranteeing car sellers 100 percent protection.

“Introducing the best seller-buyer program in the collector car business,” an announcement from the company proclaims.

The program involves the auction company placing sellers’ money in a third-party escrow account with Chase Bank.

“This keeps your money safe and not at risk of being lost by the auction company,” said the announcement, which came Monday night.

Kruse International and its owner, Dean Kruse, are in the midst of lawsuits in which they are both plaintiffs and defendants.

Last month, the auction house took public action against clients it claims owe the company more than $2 million.

At the time, the company called the lawsuits its “first round” of legal action to recover some of the $6.7 million it claims it is owed by customers.

But even if that money can be recouped, it’s a fraction of the total the auction company and Kruse, its president, are said to owe in other lawsuits.

He has said the recession has made even good customers fall behind.

Before filing its lawsuits, the company and Kruse were named as defendants in lawsuits by both banks and customers who have bought or sold cars through Kruse International.

In fact, as Kruse International was filing its suits, two more lawsuits were filed in DeKalb courts seeking money from Kruse International totaling nearly $67,000.

Kruse International has a rating with the Better Business Bureau that is the lowest possible and has lost its license to do business in Arizona, where the company had conducted auctions for more than 30 years.

In addition, Dean Kruse was ordered in November by a DeKalb County judge to pay more than $1.3 million to a Warsaw bank.

In pending lawsuits in DeKalb County, Hillcrest Bank claims Kruse and his companies owe $6.5 million, and FCOF Midwest Credit LLC filed to foreclose its mortgage on Kruse Auction Park, saying the loan is in default for $7.8 million.

Kruse and his companies have also been accused of leaving behind unpaid bills in Arizona and Tennessee.

The announcement Monday was touted by the company as “A new auction business committed to partnering with you and protecting YOU!”

The way the program will work, according to the announcement, is that at all Kruse International auctions, “the seller’s proceeds will be collected by the nationwide, certified Chase Bank, then placed in an escrow account that is completely controlled by the certified third party.”

“In these uncertain times this is a fail proof system that gives the sellers 100% protection every sale, every time,” the announcement says.

jmccartney@jg.net