A con artist in California reportedly assumed the identity of a mobile PDR tech, leaving angry customers with half-finished repairs and empty wallets in his wake.
Mike Gallegos, owner of Bakersfield-based Dent Dynamics, told KGET-TV that he’s received several phone calls in the past year from customers complaining that someone from his business never finished work on their vehicles, only to find out that Dent Dynamics never started the jobs in the first place.
“I first got a call from a customer asking if I was going to finish the repairs to their car. I said, ‘You don’t sound familiar, you’re not in our books,’” he told the TV station. “I asked them a few questions and realized they were approached by an imposter-type business.”
Police believe the con artist is probably using stolen business cards to pose as a Dent Dynamics employee. The imposter solicits potential customers on the street to offer repair services, something Gallegos says he would never do. On average, customers have paid $300 to $400 for the fraudulent repairs. The scammer begins but never completes the work, saying "I need to go out for supplies" or using some other excuse to leave with customers’ cash. More recently, an elderly couple lost $4,000 to the scam, Gallegos said.
The imposter also over-promises on the type of repairs Dent Dynamics performs.
“They’ll tell them they can do the repairs, more like body shop repairs, but we don’t do any of that – like Bondo and paint. We don’t mess with that,” he told KGET-TV.
Police said they don’t have any leads because few people have reported the incidents. Gallegos is not liable for the fraudulent repairs, though he says they have put a dent in his reputation.
Click HERE for the story and a video from KGET-TV.
