Moya Auto Body Shop Owner Arrested on Fraud Charges

Moya Auto Body Shop owner Martin Calvario Moya was arrested Thursday at 10 a.m. on charges of vandalizing cars for profit, charging customers for parts that were never repaired, and forging documents, said District Attorney spokeswoman Angelica Garcia on Friday.

The joint investigation -- which involved the California Bureau of Auto Repair, Santa Cruz County Auto Theft Unit, and the District Attorney Investigations  Bureau -- began two months ago, said Aaron Morse, an inspector with the county’s Auto Theft Unit. The Watsonville business is located at 125 Lee Road. 

Moya was also charged with failure to have required Workers Compensation Insurance coverage for his employees.

Moya has a warrant for a prior conviction of check forgery from earlier this year, said Morse. In June 2009, he was also convicted of one count of failure to have workers' compensation insurance, according to the California Department of Insurance's records. He was ordered to pay almost $10,000 in fines and placed on 48 months of conditional probation. 

On Thursday Moya was transported to Santa Cruz County Jail, with an arraignment set for Monday morning, said Morse.

The investigation began when insurance carriers and the California Bureau of Auto Repair began receiving numerous complaints from customers, said Garcia. Complaints were also made direction to the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s office, Morse added.

Additional investigations involving fraud at Watsonville autoshops are ongoing, said Morse.

He encouraged anyone with information about autoshop or insurance fraud to call the Santa Cruz District Attorney's Office at (831) 454-2400 or the closest branch of the Bureau of Automotive Repair in San Jose at (408) 277-1860.