Claim: Scam targes Spanish-speaking biz owners

IT S A HARD TIME TO OWN A SMALL BUSINESS NOW THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL S OFFICE SAYS A LOCAL COMPANY COULD BE MAKING THINGS EVEN HARDER BY SCAMMING MOM AND POP OPERATIONS CRIS ORNELAS SPOKE TO THE A-G S OFFICE TODAY HE S LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM WITH WHAT INVESTIGATORS ARE SAYING THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE MOST RECENT COMPLAINTS AGAINST RALPH GUTIERREZ BUT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS THERE HAVE BEEN 20 SIMILAR COMPLAINTS AGAINST GUTIERREZ IN LAST FIVE YEARS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL S OFFICE SAYS ONE LOCAL MAN MAY BE PREYING ON SMALL BUSINESSES THESE COMPLAINTS ARE ALL AGAINST RALPH GUTIERREZ SEVERAL STORES SAY HE OFFERED TO SELL THEM CREDIT CARD MACHINES AND SERVICES one person said that I was informed by Mr Gutierrez that i was buying this credit card machine then it turned out that when i presented these documents to a friend who translated the documents they are not for purchase they are for a lease IN ESSENCE — CUSTOMERS SHELL OUT CASH TO BUY SOMETHING WHICH CAN ULTIMATELY BE TAKEN AWAY IN SOME CASES THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS GUTIERREZ TARGETS SPANISH LANGUAGE BUSINESSES THEY SAY HE HAS HIS FATHER NEGOTIATE THE DEAL FOR THE MACHINE IN SPANISH THEN GIVES THEM A CONTRACT IN ENGLISH there is a possibility of the violation of the fair practices act with they way he s presented his contracts IF A BUSINESS TRIES TO PULL OUT OF THE DEAL THE EARLY TERMINATION FEE IN THE CONTRACT KICKS IN when that happens Mr Gutierrez it s alleged he has pulled the money out of their accounts without authorization JIM HILBER RUNS A SIMILAR BUSINESS AND SAYS GUTIERREZ IS GIVING THE WHOLE INDUSTRY A BAD NAME in some cases the sales culture would believe he s making some people s jobs easier because if someone is doing really poorly it makes you look better but I kind of don t feel that way personally i think its more important to protect the industry ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT GUTIERREZ WERE UNSUCCESSFUL THE A-G SAYS THE BEST WAY FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TO AVOID THESE KINDS OF PROBLEMS IS TO ASK OTHER STORE OWNERS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ALSO OFFERS SERVICES TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE CONTRACTS THEY ARE SIGNING