Police in Van Nuys recovered dozens of vehicles last week from an auto repair shop after an investigation into an alleged predatory “bandit towing” operation in which vehicles were towed away from minor traffic accidents under false pretenses and then unlawfully kept from their owners until they paid exorbitant fees.

The 145 vehicles were seized by police executing a search warrant July 9 at Legends Auto, also known as Legend/Enterprise, an auto body and repair shop in Van Nuys. The seizures came after numerous complaints from car owners who believed they had been duped, police said Tuesday at a news conference outside the LAPD’s Van Nuys Community Police Station.

While some vehicles were at the business legitimately, with vehicle owners’ consent, others were brought there under false pretenses, including from the scenes of minor traffic accidents, authorities said.

In a typical “bandit tow” scenario, perpetratrors show up at a minor accident and tow a victim’s car, often under false pretenses, while later charging excessive fees, that can amount to several thousand dollars, officials said

In the case presented Tuesday by police, the auto body shop and impound lot owned by Legend allegedly would pay the bandit tow companies a fee to have the cars brought to their shop and the fee would then roll over to vehicle owners’ insurance companies when contacted, according to police.

“They’ve been duped out of their vehicles,” Detective Guy Pereira said.

No arrests were immediately made, though officials said arrests were “pending.” Police say that the investigation is continuing and it will be up to the district attorney’s office to present charges. These charges could potentially include bandit towing, grand theft auto, receiving stolen property and/or insurance fraud, according to police.

Authorities said Legend Auto/Enterprise was cooperating with the investigation.

A man who answered the phone at Legend Auto on Tuesday and identified himself as a manager, but declined to give his full name, said that most of the cars impounded by police were there with the owners’ knowledge, but a few had been brought to them by tow trucks without the owners of the cars’ knowledge. But, he says Legend did not know that the owners were unaware their vehicles had been towed there.

He said the business has paid for over 80 vehicles to be returned to their owners after police impounded them.

“A few were brought in by tow trucks where we couldn’t or wouldn’t know,” he said.

The man emphasized that the business is focused on moving forward and continuing to serve their customers in the community the business has been a part of for 10 years.

LAPD Captain Karen Leong called the prices some car owners were given to get their cars back “exorbitant.”

“After an accident, you’re not in your right mind,” she said.

People often think great, the tow truck is helping them get their car out. But then, insurance companies tell owners they never authorized the tow, and predatory companies are now asking for thousands of dollars to give the car back, Leong said. The hope is, vehicle owners will pay to get their cars back and the auto body shop and impound lot will be able to make money without even doing repair work.

Officials said that the vehicles towed into Van Nuys to the Legend Auto/Enterprise locations were not all from the Van Nuys area, with one vehicle having been brought in from as far as San Gabriel.

Pereira says there has been an increase in bandit towing operations recently and that they are a “major problem” in the Van Nuys area. When the vehicles are held by auto body shops and impound lots until thousands of dollars are paid, police are calling it “theft by false pretenses.”

“What they’re doing is questionable and that’s why we are doing an investigation,” Pereira said.

Pereira says that predatory towing practices are a nationwide problem. In this case, the police received many tips about the unlawful holding of cars from frustrated vehicle owners who felt like no one could help get their cars out.

If approached by a tow truck driver in the aftermath of an accident or otherwise, police say that people should contact the police, confirm towing services through their insurance companies and contact towing companies on their own, to avoid coming in contact with a bandit tow company or auto body shop that will hold vehicles until they are paid a high fee.

“Make sure it’s your company and that your insurance knows,” Pereira said.

On Tuesday, July 15, afternoon, on Sepulveda Boulevard, the location of the former impound lot operated by Legend Auto/Enterprise was empty of cars. Only trash and car parts, including fenders and wheels, remained in the fenced off lot. Legend’s auto body shop, on Calvert Street, had its gate shut, a contrast to nearby shops in the industrial area, which were open to the street.