July 26, 2004

District Attorney Nola Tedesco Foulston announces today that the Consumer Fraud and Economic Crime Unit of the District Attorney’s Office has concluded investigations of false and deceptive advertising practices by three local car dealerships. 

Consent judgments have been filed this week against three local car dealerships – Mel Hambelton Ford, Frye Motors and Fenton Motors of El Dorado. In each instance, the companies were fined for false and misleading advertising.

Mel Hambelton was fined $12,000 for advertising that ran in February of 2004.  Frye Motors was fined $3000 for advertising that ran in November of 2003. Fenton Motors was fined $2,000 for advertising that ran in December of 2003.

The advertisements, in all cases, were in the form of direct mailer, newspaper insert or as an advertisement in the Wichita Eagle or on television, and represented that cars were acquired from a huge bankrupt rental car company and, as a result, “out of the ordinary savings” could be passed on to the consumer.

In truth, no rental car company had gone bankrupt and the cars being sold were acquired by the respective dealerships at car auctions in the ordinary course of their businesses.

These false and deceptive representations violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act that is enforced by the Office of the District Attorney Consumer Fraud and Economic Crime Unit.