Local News in Brief : 2 Brothers Accused of Felonies as Car Dealers

The owners of a defunct Reseda automobile dealership have been charged with grand theft and conspiracy. They are accused of acquiring $40,000 worth of vehicles, never paying for them and selling them to unsuspecting customers, the state Department of Motor Vehicles announced Thursday.

The arrests of Mark Alicki, 28, of Burbank, and his brother, Chris Alicki, 26, of Sherman Oaks, the owners of H & J Auto Sales, culminated a yearlong investigation of the dealership, which has had more than 75 complaints lodged against it by consumers, said Vito Scattaglia, the DMV’s supervising investigator in the San Fernando Valley.

Last fall, the DMV closed the dealership and the city attorney filed misdemeanor charges against Mark Alicki that he sold cars he did not own. That case is still pending.

The felony charges filed Nov. 5 by the district attorney’s office allege that the brothers obtained the vehicles from two Valley dealerships, Ram Auto Sales and Westworld Sales and Leasing, but never paid for them, Scattaglia said. The customers who bought the cars at H & J have not been able to obtain clear titles to their automobiles, he said.

Chris Alicki was arrested at his home last Saturday, and Mark Alicki surrendered to authorities Wednesday, he said.

Scattaglia said the department also plans to file administrative charges against the men that they failed to honor warranties and sold unsafe cars.

The brothers were released after posting $50,000 bond each. They are scheduled to be arraigned in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Dec. 3.