Latinos Target of Water Filtration Sales Scam

Authorities are investigating at least two Southland firms they believe have duped thousands of Latino families into buying expensive home water filtration systems by preying on their fears of bad tap water.

Door-to-door, Spanish-speaking salespeople typically coaxed families into signing English-language contracts to buy water systems costing up to $6,000 after explaining that tap water could cause cancer and liver problems and had even killed children, according to officials with state and local consumer protection agencies.

“These operators give a new definition to the word low,” said Contractors State License Board Registrar C. Lance Barnett, adding in a statement that the board “will not tolerate this kind of reprehensible behavior.”

About 1,200 families in Southern California have signed contracts with one firm alone, Burbank-based Everclear Water Systems, agreeing to pay between $4,000 and $6,000, or $100 a month over time, for the system.

Similar filtration systems can be purchased at home improvement stores for several hundred dollars, officials said.

Two Everclear salespeople, Juan Abanto and Laura Ortega, have been arrested in connection with making false and misleading representations when selling the systems. The two, arrested by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, are out on bail. Charges have not yet been filed.

The company, owned by Aurora Elizabeth Vergara, is under investigation for allegedly doing plumbing work without a license, said Lydia Patron of the Contractors State License Board.

Eliel Chemerinski, the attorney for Everclear, said the situation involves only two salespeople.

“The company would not approve of anyone lying or deceiving anybody,” he said.

The widespread scam is believed to involve “a number of companies” and thousands of Latino consumers, said Rigoberto Reyes, who heads the investigation for the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs.

Exacerbating the problem is the fact that many immigrants assume that tap water is unsafe, especially if they come from countries where water quality is poor, said Adan Ortega, executive assistant to the general manager at the Metropolitan Water District.

“There needs to be more public education about water quality,” he said. “Tap water is safe to drink.”

From San Bernardino County to Ventura County, consumers who have complained to officials told strikingly similar stories, Reyes said. Usually the salespeople approached homeowners by knocking on their doors. Then, during a presentation in Spanish, salespeople warned consumers about the dangers of tap water.

In a recent undercover sting, Patron of the state contractors board posed as a homeowner. She said Everclear employees Abanto and Ortega told her that tap water contained feces and urine. When Patron mentioned that she was pregnant, she said the team told her that her unborn child would be disabled if she continued to drink tap water.

Consumers have reported that some salespeople have brought along obituaries of children who supposedly died from drinking tap water, Patron said.

Jose Martinez of Panorama City recalled similar arguments from the salesman who visited him in 1996.

“He said I would have cancer problems, lung problems. He said Los Angeles water was very dirty, and that I should worry about the health of my two smaller children,” said Martinez. He filed a complaint against Ultra Classica International with the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Ultra Classica has disappeared, said Reyes of the county consumer affairs department. Reyes said his department hopes to help consumers by mediating settlements with the financing companies that granted the loans for the systems.

Jose Guzman of South Gate said he was shown a picture of rusted pipes and a diseased liver by an Ultra Classica employee, and was told the water would do the same to him. The salesman then took a sample from the tap and added a few drops of a chemical, turning the water cloudy and yellow.

“That’s when I decided to get the filter,” said Guzman. Patron said Everclear salespeople performed the same test during her pitch. Several Ventura County families also reported that they were shown similar demonstrations, she said.

What the families weren’t told was that the “test” simply precipitates normal levels of calcium and magnesium in the water. It is a violation of the state Business and Professions Code to give such a test without disclosing what it really is.

Another common complaint is that the contract is presented in English, and many consumers signed it unaware of the terms because of language difficulties.

In the case of Everclear, consumers were allegedly told to ignore the interest charges spelled out in the document.

After consumers discovered they were overcharged, companies were generally unresponsive.

When Martinez called Ultra Classica to complain that his filter was not working and demanded a replacement, he was told that provision was not in the contract.

“They told me, ‘Where is that written in the contract? Didn’t you read what you signed?’ ” Martinez said. “I signed the contract in English. I don’t understand English. I trusted those people.”

When customers called to complain to Everclear, calls were not returned or consumers were told they could not cancel the contract or were informed of a $150 cancellation fee, according to Patron.

Another company, Hy Cite Corp. of Wisconsin, has been sued by the state attorney general for allegedly using high-pressure sales techniques and scare tactics. Both sides declined to comment on the suit because of the pending trial.

Reyes says there are thousands of complaints in California--and hundreds in Los Angeles--against the company, which also sells cooking utensils.

“It’s critical to educate the public,” he said. People should know what some of these companies are doing and saying, Reyes said.

For more information about the investigation or to register a complaint, call the Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs at (213) 974-1452 or the Contractors State License Board at (800) 235-6393.