Family questions man's spending, illness
BATON ROUGE - A family is looking for help after their loved one went on a spending spree ahead of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. The family argues Anthony Corona was unfit then and now they're stuck with a huge bill.
With a love for the outdoors and a need to buy an ATV for hunting with easy accessibility, Corona walked into Friendly Honda Yamaha on Airline Highway in May 2016 to make a purchase. His family says he intended to spend no more than $10,000 but ended up with a bill more than double that.
He walked away with a screaming red, CFMOTO's ZFORCE 800 Trail. It's advertised as a machine with impressive power and impeccable handling. For the past year, it's been sitting in Corona's garage and has less than 10 miles on it.
A few months after the purchase in October, Corona was diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. His doctor says, "He is incapable of making any financial decisions and cannot drive." Last year, he failed a driving test.
While the company legally didn't do anything wrong, Corona's daughter, Christina Alamirie says she's upset about the timing of all this and worries someone made a bunch of money off one man's illness.
"There's nothing hunting about this," said Alamirie. "I'm like, why did you get them to sell you that. He said, 'Well, they were saying it's a good deal and they gave me tires and a windshield and a wench.'"
Alamirie says Friendly Honda Yamaha didn't give him anything. He paid for all the extras. He put $10,000 down and financed the rest for a total sale price of $20,623.68.
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After approaching Friendly Honda Yamaha about Corona's illness, nothing happened.
"They wouldn't buy it back," said Alamirie. "They wouldn't do a trade-in, nothing."
Friday morning, 2 On Your Side went to the store on Airline Highway looking for the General Manager and were told he had just left for his other store in Slidell.
According to Edmunds, which provides information on vehicles nationwide, dealers like Friendly Honda Yamaha are not legally obligated to refund Corona or take back the CFMOTO. All sales are final.
With his disease, Corona no longer hunts. Alamirie feels her dad was persuaded to buy and couldn't realize it. She hopes this doesn't happen to anyone else.
"We're just trying to get some of our money back," she said.
Tuesday, 2 On Your Side began calling Friendly Honda Yamaha about Corona's purchase. After leaving a handful of messages for the General Manager and stopping by the store, 2 On Your Side did not hear back.
Corona's ATV is for sale on Craigslist.