2 Accused of Giving False Data to DMV

An auto dealer and a mechanic and part-owner of an auto repair shop were charged Thursday with giving false information to the state Department of Motor Vehicles after a Van Nuys woman complained that her used car broke down two weeks after she purchased it.

Elrob Thomas Boujaode, 30, of Beverly Hills, owner of Elrob Motor Sports in Canoga Park, and Vahe Kalfayan, 36, of North Hills, a mechanic and part-owner of Vick and Steve Auto Clinic Inc. in North Hills, have been charged with crimes including falsifying information given to the state, failing to perform a smog check and computer fraud, said Mike Qualls, spokesman for the L.A. city attorney’s office.

The case grew out of a state Bureau of Automotive Repair investigation that found the two men had issued a false emission-control certificate on a 1984 Sterling, Qualls said.

A Van Nuys woman bought the car from Elrob Motor Sports on Jan. 2, 1996. On Jan. 18, the car broke down and has been parked in her driveway ever since, said Qualls.

Emission-control certificates are required by law for all cars sold in California. The woman became suspicious after she received an emission-control certificate dated April 17, 1996, three months after the car broke down, Qualls said. It was issued by Vick and Steve Auto Clinic, Qualls said.

The men will be arraigned April 22 in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.