Cody Deweiler

The shop air was thick with the usual smell of grease and burnt rubber until six cruisers rolled down the driveway. I thought the guys were pulling my leg. In this business, you get used to pranks, but the cold click of steel on my wrists wasn't a joke. Local law enforcement took me into custody right there at the shop, tightening the handcuffs until my hands went numb. They didn't lead with an explanation; they led with a warrant. No letter, no phone call, and zero prior warning from the Tennessee Department of Revenue. It wasn't until I was being hauled off that the word surfaced: tax evasion. The Montana Loophole and the Burnt Ferrari The core of the state's aggression stems from a Ferrari F8 I used to own. Most performance enthusiasts know the drill: you register a high-value asset under a Montana LLC to avoid the soul-crushing sales tax in states like Tennessee. It’s a strategy used by a massive percentage of luxury car owners. The irony? That Ferrari isn't even a car anymore. It’s a cube of melted aluminum and carbon fiber after catching fire during a shoot in Texas. The state is coming after me for roughly $30,000 in sales tax on a vehicle that was registered out of state and literally doesn't exist anymore. Behind the Bars of Williamson County Walking into the Williamson County Jail gives you a perspective shift. I spent my time in a cell doing squats in my socks, watching the system move around me. My team moved fast, bailing me out within three hours on a $20,000 bond. While the media started whispering about millions, the reality was far more bureaucratic. The state didn't just indict me as an individual; they went after the WhistlinDiesel LLC as well. It’s a targeted strike. They aren't just looking for $30,000; they are looking to make an example out of someone with a platform to scare the rest of the car community into reregistering their Montana-plated builds. Engineering a Legal Defense Precision matters, whether you're timing a camshaft or navigating tax code. My strategy isn't to back down; it's to dig in. I’m currently purchasing land in Montana to solidify my business operations there. If the state wants to argue about how much time a vehicle spends on Tennessee roads, we’ll give them a fight they didn't anticipate. I’ve always paid my federal and state income taxes—well over seven figures—so this move over a single car feels like a gross waste of taxpayer resources. They spent more on the manpower for the arrest than the tax they’re trying to collect. Lessons from the Driver's Seat This ordeal taught me that the government won't always play fair. They skipped the