CLEVELAND — In the race for U.S. Senate in Ohio between Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, and Libertarian challenger Don Kissick, Moreno's business dealings have been challenged.
THE CLAIM
In an interview with The Vindicator in the Youngstown area, Moreno told the publication he was sued just five times in 15 years of business.
SOURCES
To VERIFY whether that's true, our sources are:
- Moreno's candidate financial disclosure with the U.S. Senate
- Secretary of State filings in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Florida
- Federal and state court records
EXPLANATION
Moreno's campaign filing with the U.S. Senate lists multiple companies operated by Moreno, named variations of the letter M — a number and the word "Motors" — along with "Bernie Moreno Companies," among other things. Cross-referencing those company names with business record filings in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Florida shows Moreno created those companies.
If you search for "Bernie Moreno Companies" as a defendant on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas online docket, 13 cases show up. A search in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, reveals at least 10 lawsuits against Moreno's M11 Motors, LLC.
There was at least one administrative action against Moreno's M10 Motors Inc. in Florida, and a search of federal court records shows multiple lawsuits against Moreno's companies in Ohio, Florida, and California naming M1 Motors Inc., M2 Motors Inc., M10 Motors Inc., M10 Motors LLC, and Bernie Moreno Companies.
THE ANSWER
So we can VERIFY that this claim is false. Moreno was not sued just five times in 15 years of business. It was much more than that.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
I told Moreno's campaign that we uncovered dozens of court cases involving his companies, and asked for his comment on that. His campaign's communications director Reagan McCarthy told me that Moreno counts the Massachusetts case as one. His campaign didn't address lawsuits filed in any other state, including the 13 that show up in Cuyahoga County alone.
If you come across something that you're unsure about being true or false, you can send it to us to VERIFY by emailing us at verify@wkyc.com, or texting us at (216) 344-3300.