KTNV ABC,Channel 13,Las Vegas,Nevada,News,Weather,Sports,Entertainment,KTNV.com,Action News .:. Consumers cry foul over Attorney General's failure to act

Consumers cry foul over Attorney General's failure to act

Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - From auto repair to medicare care, many wonder who is protecting consumers? The Attorney General is largely responsible for consumer protection, but cases Action News has reported on recently and consumers we've talked with say the highest law enforcement office in Nevada falls short of their expectations.

Contact 13 Chief Investigator Darcy Spears looked at what many call the Attorney General's failure to act.

Case: Tire Works.

Hundreds of consumers complain about being ripped off by the valley's largest auto repair chain.

"They almost have the playbook for dishonesty," said Tire Works customer Stephen Redman in March, 2009

An undercover State investigation leads to formal charges of a pattern and practice of deceptive trade.

"That they were in fact recommending unnecessary repairs," Deputy Attorney General Raelene Palmer explained in March, 2009.

A lawsuit is filed by the Attorney General in 2009.

In 2010, the case is dropped.

"It says we don't care about you. We don't care about protecting you," says long-time Las Vegas resident Brad Byers.

Case: Valley Eye Center.

Dozens of patients harmed, some losing their sight because of botched Lasik surgery.

"I will be blind within five years," Valley Eye patient Adam Gruszecki says.

The Attorney General picks up the trail.

"We had 7 different patients interviewed by the Attorney General's office and they were all told that the case was moving forward. They were even told that an arrest was imminent," says Kristine Maxwell, the attorney representing multiple Valley Eye patients in civil lawsuits.

The case is dropped by the Attorney General after Valley Eye Center is shut down in 2008.

"You can get away with anything out here, apparently," says Gruszecki.

Case: Purrfect Auto.

A State investigation finds repeated examples of the chain charging for parts not installed and repairs not performed.

"I feel very violated and I hope and pray something's done about this soon--if not for my sake then for everybody else's--'cause they're gonna continue to do this," said Indrea Dixon, a Purrfect Auto customer in August, 2007.

Status: stalled three years after a State lawsuit is filed.

"I expect them to do the right thing. Bring these people to trial," Byers demands.

With consumers demanding accountability, we took their concerns to Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

"They feel like there is nobody really working for them and working to protect them," Contact 13 Chief Investigator Darcy Spears told Masto.

"I do understand that concern. There's no doubt about it. I have those concerns as well," Masto said.

But she says that's only because the governor eliminated our State Consumer Affairs Division.

Not because her office is failing to act.

But she admits budget constraints keep them from moving forward quickly.

"We're gonna do everything we can to protect consumers but it's gonna take us time to get there.  It's gonna take us time to work those cases."

Preventing people from becoming victims is a priority for Masto. When Contact 13 asked what's been successfully prosecuted, she listed mortgage and loan modification scams, charity and grant scams, Medicaid fraud, anti-trust cases...

"We also prosecute for identity theft cases and we've criminally prosecuted 37 of those since I've been in office."

But none of that comforts people like Adam Gruszecki, a single father of four boys who's going blind after Lasik surgery at Valley Eye.

Everything except the cutting was done by Vikas Jain, a man who'd been stripped of his medical license for harming patients in other states.

Masto's office was investigating him for practicing medicine without a license on multiple patients at Valley Eye.

"I would hope there could be some kind of justice," Gruszecki says.

"The company's gone. It's shut down. And that's what we did," explains Masto.

Vikas Jain has since moved out of state.

"This guy actually harms people, hurts them and is able to leave the state and not worry about getting any kind of punishment. That's unbelievable!" Gruszecki exclaims.

"That's what really bothered me," says Adam's attorney Kristine Maxwell, who also used to work as a Deputy Attorney General in Utah.

"I think that it says that Nevada is a place where doctors who've had their license permanently revoked, who've been highlighted in the national media as horrible actors, come to Nevada because you're not going to face any of the consequences that you face everywhere else."

Consumers we spoke to believe the Tire Works case says much the same thing about consequences.

"There is no consequence for the owner of Tire Works. They can get away with this," Brad Byers says.

"At the time we brought that to trial, we did not have a strong enough case that we felt we would prevail in a court of law. Unfortunately, all of the evidence wasn't there," Masto explains.

But that's partially because the State lost a key piece of evidence--the car they used in their undercover sting.

"From our perspective, what we did in that Tire Works case was still looking out for the best interest of the consumer," says Masto.

"Even though a lot of people obviously don't feel that way, you can sit here and tell them, 'we did not drop the ball, we did not give Tire Works a stamp of approval on the way they do business?'" Spears asked.

"Just the opposite," Masto said.

The state got a promise, called an Assurance of Compliance, from Tire Works that says they'll comply with the law. 

Masto she says that gives the State a strong tool to bring a new case if the DMV receives enough consumer complaints.

We showed Masto a hefty stack of complaints we've received at Contact 13 over the last year and a half.

"We know of their bad practices because of the complaints--the alleged bad practices--and if there's more of them out there that's not gonna stop us from moving forward against them in the future if we have the evidence to move forward," Masto said.

Contact 13 had a question about Purrfect Auto's case.

"Why has it been three years and that case hasn't been brought to court," Spears asked.

"We are still pursuing the case. It has not gone anywhere," Masto answered.

She cautions the public to keep an open mind.

"You're asking me to identify just those few cases where we didn't succeed. But I'm telling you, you have to look at the bigger picture. We have helped so many people and we will continue to do so."

Brad Byers isn't buying it.

"Somebody's got to start taking care of business, put their foot down and do the right thing for the consumer."

Many consider the A.G.'s biggest bungle the case of Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki.

He was indicted for misappropriating public funds from a state college savings program when he was State Treasurer. Rumors flew about hidden political motivations behind the Attorney General's investigation, and a judge threw the State's case out of court.

So how do the numbers stack up for Masto in the three years she's been Attorney General? Her office has fielded 8,874 consumer complaints. They've brought 286 cases to court which amounts to 3% of their complaint total.

The Attorney General's Office says that percentage is misleading because each complaint does not necessarily represent a separate case. They say that's because many of the complaints end up being forwarded to another state agency or because many complaints are against the same company.