Steve Krieser, supervisor of the DOT's field investigation unit, said the salesman worked at Van Horn Dodge in Plymouth for 27 months and was involved in 10 to 20 deals per month.

The salesman also worked at Van Horn Hyundai in Fond du Lac for a time, selling 128 vehicles there.

As part of an agreement with investigators, both dealerships admitted to the violation and agreed to "follow better business practices," according to a press release issued Friday.

Krieser did not know when the illegal sales were made. The agency said continued violations could be grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of a representative license.

Dick Strong, general manager of the Plymouth dealership, said in a message passed by another employee that the violation was "unintentional," declining further comment. Chuck Van Horn declined comment.

Chrysler had consolidated several Chrysler and Jeep franchises at the Plymouth Van Horn dealership, 3000 Eastern Ave., as part of bankruptcy proceedings last year. The dealership is owned by Van Horn Automotive Group, which operates four car dealerships.

In November 2009, the DOT forced a now-defunct Van Horn dealership in St. Nazianz to pay $93,600 in compensation after selling 120 vehicles while failing to properly document them as manufacturer buyback, or "lemon law" vehicles. Eleven of those customers said they did not know they bought vehicles that were bought back by the manufacturers after causing prior owners a certain level of ongoing problems.