Charges Filed Against Auto Service Firms
The city attorney Wednesday filed charges against operators of 10 San Fernando Valley auto service shops who were allegedly caught swindling consumers by the State Bureau of Automotive Repair.
Many consumer complaints had been received about two of the businesses under investigation and the other eight were targeted because they ran “too-good-to-be-true” advertisements in the Recycler newspaper, Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn said.
“Consumers should be very wary of offers for goods or services that seem too good to be true,” Hahn said. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and they probably are about to get ripped off.”
Among the goods allegedly advertised were rebuilt transmissions starting at $160 each.
The investigation involved “sting” operations in which undercover Bureau of Automotive Repair agents took control vehicles into the shops for repairs.
The maximum sentence on the various charges is one year in jail.
The city attorney’s office identified those charged as Ramiro A. Acuna, 42, of Pacoima, owner of Advance Transmissions, 6818 Lankershim Blvd.; John H. Kang, 47, of Woodland Hills, who works at John’s Auto Repair, 7000 Laurel Canyon Blvd.; Chun Kun Woo, 49, of Los Angeles, who works at Q’s Transmission Center, 7649 Lankershim; Paul Robert Wachter, 58, of North Hollywood, owner of Dr. Transmission, 11410 Victory Blvd., and his employees Rocky Joe Woosley and Rafael Caudillo, and Robert Charles Wachter, 32, of Sylmar, Paul’s son and an employee at ATCO Transmission, 5452 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
Also Joe Ronald Wilson, 40, of Arleta, who works at Wilson Bros. Automotive, 13161 Sherman Way; Arturo Jesus Perez, 24, of Van Nuys, owner of Jordan Transmission, 14116 Sherman Way, and his employee Javier Morales Perez, 48; In Hwan Kim, 33, of Glendale, owner of Chase Transmission, 13801 Chase St.; Dean Nyland, 36, and Henry Martini, 35, both of Simi Valley and co-owners of Regency Transmission, 8953 Sepulveda Blvd., and Massachi Simon Shimon, 32, of Northridge, owner of Woodman Carburetor & Fuel Injection, 8943 Woodman Ave.
