VENTURA : Couple Ordered to Cease False Ads

A Ventura County Superior Court judge on Monday ordered a Ventura couple to stop using false and misleading advertising to unfairly attract business.

Judge Barbara A. Lane issued a final judgment and permanent injunction against C.W. Buz and Marlene Wilburn, who agreed to pay a civil penalty of $5,000 without admitting liability, said Michael Schwartz, a spokesman for the district attorney’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Division.

The Wilburns took over a Ventura business called the Coin Store in the mid-80s, where they bought and sold coins, jewelry and precious metals, Schwartz said. They subsequently renamed the store the Pacific Gold Exchange and Depository.

Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury filed a civil lawsuit against the Wilburns in 1987, accusing them of misrepresenting their business as being locally owned for 29 years, and of being a division of the Noci Oro Corp., which did not yet exist, Schwartz said.

The court decision also prohibits the couple from making false claims in advertising and in the Yellow Pages--such as belonging to the American Numismatic Assn., the Professional Numismatists Guild and other trade groups.