ROSWELL, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
The actions of a Roswell car dealer, described by a state lawmaker as criminal, were the subject of a state investigation on Monday.
CBS Atlanta News had been investigating Alpha Carz for more than three years after learning they were deceiving customers into buying crashed cars.
Monday, the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection stepped in to sanction the dealership for years of the questionable sales practices.
The dealership had changed its name several times.
Chief Investigative Reporter Wendy Saltzman began following the company in 2009, and their business practices hadn't changed since the first hidden camera report Saltzman aired.
Shalonda Jones, an attorney, bought her Acura from Alpha Carz. She said the dealership was basically a thief.
"That's defrauding the public, and they defrauded me," Jones said.
The dealer gave Jones a clean Carfax vehicle history report and promised her the car was accident-free.
"It's an awesome car, great price. Clean as a whistle," the salesman said on hidden camera.
He used the same pitch over and over and over again when CBS Atlanta News went undercover, saying that the cars had not been in any accidents.
But CBS Atlanta News uncovered that all the cars looked at during the hidden camera reports had been in wrecks.
John Sours, head of the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection, said the company wanted to sell cars as quickly as possible.
"Their motivation was to sell more cars, more quickly, for as much money as they could get for them," Sours said.
State investigators found Alpha Carz was putting seriously damaged and potentially unsafe cars back on the road without the buyer ever knowing about it.
"They were doing this knowingly and willing. It was part of their ongoing business operation, and that's why this penalty is being imposed upon them," Sours said.
As a result of the sanction, Alpha Carz will have to pay $16,000 in restitution to customers who were lied to and another $25,000 in civil penalties and administrative fees.
"We are sending a message here that these kinds of actions are not going to be tolerated and we are going to do something about it when we do discover it ," Sours said.
When CBS Atlanta News attempted to ask the dealership Tough Questions on Monday, employees locked themselves inside and called the police.
There is another $25,000 civil penalty that Alpha Carz and its owners will have to pay if anyone else steps forward with proof they were also victims of fraud.
For more information, call the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection at 404-656-3790.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
