Food Truck Fraudsters Crushed Dreams Of Aspiring Owners: AG

DENVER, CO- Aspiring food truck owners liquidated their savings or cashed out their retirement funds to pay two Denver-area men to build them food trucks within six weeks, only to have their dreams dashed, the Colorado Attorney General's office alleges.

The state's fraud department, led by the AG's office announced that a a Denver District Court has issued a preliminary injunction order against Denver Custom Food Trucks, Brothers Custom Food Trucks and the owners, Larry Perez and Rudy Martinez of Commerce City.

State prosecutors allege that Perez and Martinez took advantage of the high demand for food truck fabrication in Colorado, promising fast build-out times and guaranteeing that finished food trucks would pass governmental safety inspections despite knowing they could not deliver on their promises, a statement from the AG's office said.

Consumers described having dreams of running their own business crushed when Perez and Martinez delivered an allegedly faulty truck after a long delay, or failed to deliver a truck at all, prosecutors said.

Consumers who did receive a truck complained that the two fraudulently allegedly installed used equipment. Others complain that the trucks built by Perez and Martinez were allegedly not operable, required additional work, or failed to pass safety inspection.

Neither Perez nor Martinez hold a motor vehicle dealers license as required by law to sell trucks, the AG's office said. Defendants often “skipped title” to deliberately avoid government oversight and failed to deliver trucks with a clean title, causing harm to consumers when they tried to register their truck, the AG's office alleged.

Perez and Martinez’s businesses, Denver Custom Food Trucks and Brothers Custom Food Trucks, respectively, were shut down in May by Commerce City for failure to pay taxes – the second time that Perez was shut down for failure to pay taxes. Despite the tax issues, and despite numerous customer complaints, Perez and Martinez continued their businesses in Denver, the AG's office said.

The Denver District Court entered a preliminary injunction order that restricts the food truck duo from engaging in any activity related to the fabrication, repair, or sale of food trucks. A two-day permanent injunction hearing is scheduled to start Feb. 13, 2018 the AG's office said.

Image via Shutterstock

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