3 Movers Charged With Price Gouging

The operators of three moving companies have been charged with overcharging victims of the Jan. 17 earthquake.

Thomas J. Smith, a Mayflower agent and president of L.A. Moving Storage and Distribution of Arleta, and Jeronimo Maldonado, who was a subcarrier for Smith, are both accused of price gouging in the days immediately after the quake.

Allegations against Smith and Maldonado include several moves on Jan. 19, said Mike Qualls, spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, which filed the complaints. In one, a customer was charged $1,986, of which investigators said $525 was an overcharge. In another, the pair charged $2,787, of which investigators said $813 was an overcharge.

Smith and L.A. Moving were charged with operating without a permit; hiring an unauthorized subhauler; maintaining inaccurate shipping documents; making false and misleading statements; illegal advertising, and exceeding an agreed price for services.

Maldonado and his firm were charged with failing to provide price agreements; keeping inaccurate documents; operating without a permit; making false and misleading statements, and illegal advertising.

Paul Helbert, 27, of Burbank, an Allied Van Lines agent and chief executive officer of Camarillo-based Milestone International, also was charged.

Allegations against Helbert include a Jan. 21 case in which the manager of an apartment complex was charged $2,126 to have his belongings moved into storage and later to an apartment. Investigators calculated the manager had been overcharged $526, Qualls said.

Helbert and his firm were charged with permit violations; failure to provide price agreements; failure to carry proper insurance; misrepresenting services; failing to provide customers with proper bills; making false statements, and illegal advertising.

Helbert, Maldonado and Smith could not be reached for comment.

The maximum penalties for the counts in each of the complaints are six months in jail and/or a $2,500 fine for making false statements, and 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine for each of the other counts.

Arraignment is scheduled April 12 for all three men.