California Attorney General Says Well-Known Sacramento Car Dealer Paul Blanco Swindled Customers And Defrauded Investors

Attorney General Xavier Becerra says California is suing Paul Blanco — owner of well-known car dealerships in Sacramento and throughout California and northern Nevada — for fraud, alleging that his companies lied to creditors and swindled low-income customers with bad loans. 

“It might be called ‘Paul Blanco’s Good Car Company,’ but for many families that name could not be farther from the truth,” Becerra said. 

The lawsuit alleges that Blanco’s companies made false statements on credit applications and obtained auto loans on false pretenses.

Hunter Landerholm is handling the case for the attorney general’s office and says Blanco’s dealerships would also sell additional, expensive service contracts that customers did not need, a tactic prosecutors refer to as the “hands-down close.”

"It literally means we take the disclosure paperwork that tells you how much your vehicle costs, how much interest you're going to pay over time, and we slap it down in front of you on the table with our open hand covering up the disclosure," Landerholm said.

The lawsuit also alleges customers were misled by Blanco employees that they were legally required to purchase add-ons, or that they were included in the cost of the vehicle.

Landerholm says advertising for a “Senior Gold” program, which enticed older customers to visit dealerships, was false: the program never existed.

The lawsuit cites Blanco dealerships between Fairfield and Las Vegas. 

The AG’s office declined to say whether a customer complaint had launched its two-year investigation, but did say customers were an important part of it.

Blanco did not immediately respond to a request by CapRadio to discuss the lawsuit.