Charlotte tow company to pay victims $30K for illegally booting semi trucks and price gouging

Officials in North Carolina announced a judgement against a Charlotte towing company and its owner following multiple allegations of the illegal booting of semi trucks and “racially targeted towing” practices.

On February 17, 2026, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced a $30,000 judgement against David Jewel Satterfield and his companies, A1 Towing Solutions and Automobile Recovery and Parking Enforcement.

“We had evidence that the defendant broke price gouging laws and engaged in racially targeted towing” said Jackson. “This judgment will force him to pay back the victims and it will set a clear precedent: If you run a towing company that breaks that law, we are going to take you to court, and we’re going to stop you.”

Satterfield was sued by the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office in 2020 for illegally booting and towing trucks delivering essential goods during the pandemic and charging as much as $4,000 to release the vehicles.

“In some cases, the truck driver presented Satterfield with a written parking permit or parked their truck before he installed signs giving notice that their vehicles would be towed, but the defendant still towed their truck and charged them excessively high fees to release it,” said Jackson.

Officials also say that based on records kept by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, “Satterfield towed vehicles owned by African-Americans at an alarmingly high rate and almost exclusively operated in areas of Charlotte that have a majority African-American population.”

Satterfield is further accused of using racial epithets and assaulting African-Americans while towing their vehicles, Jackson said.

As part of the judgement, Satterfield was ordered to pay a combined $30,000 in restitution to the victims that were unlawfully towed and those who were required to pay excessive prices to get their vehicles back.

Additionally, Satterfield and his companies were ordered to abide by the following:

• Cannot tow vehicles without first getting permission from the owner of the property that the vehicle is on.
• Cannot charge excessive amounts for towing.
• Cannot put boots on commercial vehicles – like the trucks used to deliver food and water during the pandemic.
• Cannot threaten vehicle owners/drivers.
• Cannot tow vehicles from private lots unless the lots are clearly marked with signs.
• Cannot hold onto commercial cargo obtained through a nonconsensual tow.
• Cannot charge separately for towing and impounding the separate parts of a tractor-trailer.
• Cannot boot a vehicle while the driver is in it without first informing the driver or giving the driver a chance to move the vehicle.
• Cannot charge DMV filing fees when no such fee is required.
• Cannot require consumers to schedule a time to pick up their vehicle and then charge them for a delay in the pickup caused by the defendant.

Any violation of these terms could result in Satterfield paying $110,000 to the state of North Carolina.

In December 2025, the Commercial Vehicle and Cargo Protection Act went into effect in North Carolina, making it a a Class 2 misdemeanor crime to use a boot or other immobilization device on a commercial vehicle.