Business ProfileforPaul Blanco's Good Car Company

The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency.  If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below:

On September 23, 2019 the California Attorney General's Office filed a Complaint for Permanent Injunction, Civil Penalties, Restitution, and other Equitable Relief against Paul Blanco and his various corporations affiliated with Paul Blanco's Good Car Company.

According to the Complaint, Paul Blanco's Good Car Company engaged in a regular practice of falsifying consumer credit applications by reporting inflated incomes and falsifying other pertinent information. The Attorney General also alleges that Paul Blanco falsified vehicle values to finance companies and attracted customers through the use of deceptive advertisements including false claims that consumers have been pre-approved for financing, advertisements for unrealistically low interest rates, claims that over one-hundred lenders will compete for a customer's business, when in reality the number is only a small handful, and claims to have a special "Senor Gold Program" for senior citizens that qualified them for special low interest rates financed through credit unions, when in fact there was no partnership with credit unions and seniors were qualified for financing the same way other applicants were. The defendants also targeted minority communities with Spanish language advertisements for credit for consumers receiving cash wages, that are undocumented, or lack valid driver's licenses. The complaint further alleges that the defendants charged consumers for optional add-on products, such as GAP insurance, that the consumers did not authorize or authorized based on false pretenses. These add-ons were sold at higher rates than what most used car dealerships sell them for.

On November 7, 2022 the plaintiff (the people of the State of California) and the defendants (Paul Blanco, etc.), without trial or any fact of law, entered into a Final Judgement and Permanent Injunction. According to the Attorney General's Press Release, " the dealerships admitted to and agreed to be held liable for 670,000 violations of California's Unfair Competition and False Advertising Laws. The corporations will be permanently banned from the auto sales industry in California, and Paul Blanco will personally face a 10-year ban on participating in the auto industry in California. Should the Blancos ever return to the auto business in California, they would be required to adhere to strong injunctive terms." Additionally, the defendants agreed to the entry of a $20 million judgment and a further $7.5 million judgment against the Blancos individually.