SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The city of San Francisco is taking action against a towing company they say has a history of illegally towing vehicles.
It’s been nearly a year since the San Francisco City Attorney’s office began legal proceedings against “Auto Towing” on the grounds that the company violated several state and local laws by illegally towing vehicles from private property. Now, the city is taking things a step further.
“We have provided sufficient evidence that Auto Towing can be permanently banned from doing business with the city for the next five years,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu.
Chiu said his office has a list of illegal tactics used by Auto Towing. In a statement, Chiu added, “This company intentionally misleads and defrauds people out of hundreds of dollars by illegally towing cars. Our city has no interest in contracting with an exploitative business that engages in illegal acts.”
During their investigation, the city attorney’s office discovered that the owner of Auto Towing also owned two other towing companies.
One of them is called “Specialty Towing.” In April, we reported on a tow truck with the name “Specialty Towing” that was trying to tow vehicles waiting at red lights.
“There are tow trucks that are called ‘Specialty Towing’ that are involved in what appears to be criminal activity by trying to tow cars with people in them. I know that investigation is ongoing, but it doesn’t seem to be in the best interest of these affiliated companies either,” Chiu said.
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An East Bay couple described the terrifying moment a tow truck tried to tow them while driving through downtown San Francisco.
ABC7 went to Auto Towing in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood. Their parking lot had two cars, but no one was inside.
We called the number listed on the sign outside their business.
A common carrier said Auto Towing has not paid for its services in months.
Shamann Walton, the district’s supervisor, knew of the company.
“They’ll take the car from the address on file to another location and it takes people longer to be able to find their vehicle which in the towing world adds to the cost of getting your car back. So they’re making it difficult and, in some cases, impossible for people to get their cars back,” Walton said.
Supervisor Walton said there are several towing companies in San Francisco that are known to engage in illegal tactics.
“I’m glad the city attorney has put an end to this practice for one towing company and hopefully it will have an impact on other companies,” Walton said.
As we investigated further, City Attorney Chiu confirmed that Auto Towing’s owners are facing more than just a ban from the city.
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In a separate case, the owner of Auto Towing was charged with welfare fraud.
In a statement, the San Francisco district attorney’s office said:
“Fuentes and Badillo were each charged with welfare fraud. They were indicted in February of this year and pleaded not guilty to all charges. Their next court date is September 11, 2024, for a pre-trial hearing.
Fuentes was charged with 12 felony counts of welfare fraud. Charged with one count of misappropriation of public funds, two counts of obtaining assistance by false representation, one count of filing a false statement of eligibility, two counts of grand theft, and six counts of perjury.
Badillo was charged with eight felony counts including one count of obtaining assistance by false information, one count of filing a false statement of eligibility, one count of grand theft, and four counts of perjury.
Regarding the other two towing companies owned by Auto Towing’s owners, city attorney Chiu said they are still prohibited from doing business with the city.
“They have been suspended indefinitely while criminal proceedings against their company owners are ongoing,” Chiu said.
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