LOS ANGELES : Pep Boys to Pay $50,000 in Lawsuit

Pep Boys Corp. has agreed to pay more than $50,000 in penalties to settle a consumer protection lawsuit stemming from the company’s fraudulent operation of a sweepstakes contest.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathryn Showers said Tuesday the company will pay $35,500 in restitution and penalties to the district attorney’s office and $15,000 to the state attorney general’s office.

The case stems from the company’s “70th Anniversary Scratch and Win” game in April, 1991, with prizes including $70,000 cash, a 1991 Mazda Miata; 70 Pioneer AM/FM compact disc players and 700 T-shirts.

The contest required that consumers come into a Pep Boys locations to learn what, if any, of the prizes they had won. The only prize awarded over the course of the contest was a single T-shirt, the prosecutor said.