Scheme operators take cars of LA county residents and demand hefty fees for their return, county officials say<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After surviving the deadly Eaton fire<\/a>, some Los Angeles county residents were left vulnerable to a second danger: fraudulent towing companies that took their vehicles and were demanding hefty fees for their return, county officials say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Eaton fire, which started on 7 January near Pasadena, razed more than 9,400 homes and businesses and left 17 people dead. Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles<\/a> county board of supervisors, said that during the first four days of the blaze, some tow truck operators were falsely claiming to be working for Altadena officials. They towed vehicles without telling owners where the cars were being stored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These companies then demanded excessive fees to give back the vehicles, some of which were found in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, both about an hour\u2019s drive from Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI find it disgusting that these fraudulent tow operators exploited fire survivors during their time of distress,\u201d Barger said in a statement<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barger\u2019s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment from the Guardian regarding how many residents had been affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officials have urged anyone who experienced suspicious interactions with tow companies, such as requests for photos of driver\u2019s licenses or claims that a vehicle could not be located, to report them to the Inland Empire auto insurance fraud taskforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThose behind this abhorrent scheme must be held accountable and brought to justice,\u201d Barger said. \u201cI urge anyone who was victimized to come forward so we can stop these bad actors from preying on our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barger\u2019s announcement followed close on the heels of a warning by the California department of insurance about an uptick in scams where tow companies hold accident victims\u2019 vehicles \u201chostage for cash<\/a>\u201d, an investigation that began before the Eaton fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Victims David Gueringer and Ursula Knudson in Los Angeles told ABC7<\/a> that a towing company falsely claimed it had been contracted by the city to remove vehicles as part of debris-clearing efforts. The company later placed a lien on their car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI realized they wanted the cars. It\u2019s complicated,\u201d Knudson told ABC7. \u201cIt would be impressive if it wasn\u2019t so awful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although recovery efforts after the fires in Los Angeles county are afoot, the process has been rocky. Last week, the mayor, Karen Bass, removed the fire chief, Kristin Crowley<\/a>, following criticism of the city\u2019s wildfire response. Crowley reportedly sent 1,000 firefighters home on the day the fires started, a move that drew sharp criticism from the firefighters\u2019 union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n