A lawsuit filed against Pep Boys of California alleging a technician at the Pep Boys Automotive Center in Santa Maria fraudulently passed a used car dealer's vehicles through emissions tests has settled, with the company agreeing to pay $180,000.

The suit, filed last year against The Pep Boys Manny Moe & Jack of California, alleged that Santa Maria Pep Boys employee Alberto Gonzales Camacho tricked a state Bureau of Automotive Repair computer at least 13 times during August 2004 by entering information for used cars requiring a smog check while testing a cleaner vehicle.

Camacho was convicted in 2005 in Santa Maria of criminal charges connected with his actions, referred to as “clean piping.” Also convicted was Javier Hernandez, who owned a business called Hernandez Auto Repair on West Harding Avenue in Santa Maria.

Hernandez allegedly paid Camacho an unspecified amount of money to pass cars he planned to sell and knew would fail a smog test.

Because of clean piping, the Pep Boys in the 1700 block of South Broadway is not currently a licensed California smog check station, said Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy District Attorney Jerry Lulejian, who filed the suit.

He said the suit settled in Santa Maria court on Aug. 27 for $180,000.

Of the $180,000, $150,000 will go toward the county for law enforcement purposes and $30,000 will go toward the Bureau of Automotive Repair to pay for the cost of their investigation, Lulejian said.

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He said the lawsuit settled for less than the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office was seeking because part of the settlement includes a press release about the incident that will be given to media agencies and to the auto industry through a number of publications.

“We're trying to get the word out to employers that there is a real problem if you don't supervise your employees well enough,” Lulejian said.

He said the press release had not yet been agreed upon by both sides, and must be ready by next week.

The attorney representing Pep Boys in the suit, Harvinder Anand, could not be reached for comment Thursday, and neither could a spokeswoman for Pep Boys.

September 21, 2007