Firms in Hot Water Over 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 as much as $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.

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.”

Overpriced System

About 1,200 families in Southern California have signed contracts with one firm alone, 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 have been arrested on suspicion of 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 been filed.

The company 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.

Consumers Misled

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.

Consumers across Southern California 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 two Everclear employees 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,” Martinez said. He filed a complaint against Ultra Classica International with the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Ultra Classica has disappeared, said Reyes of the 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.

For more information about the investigation or to register a complaint, call the Contractors State License Board at (800) 235-6393.