The Pennsylvania office of the Attorney General has charged the owner of car dealerships in Brodheadsville and Lehighton with bad practices including false and misleading advertising practices, yo-yo financing, falsifying credit applications, and aggressive or abusive sales tactics.

Efforts to reach Bill Rosado, who owns Lehighton Kia and Brodheadsville Chevrolet, as well as Dickson City Hyundai and Milford Chrysler Sales, were unsuccessful as of early Tuesday.

Rosado promised to stop breaking the law, and was fined $67,500. Of that, $50,000 will go to consumers who complained the Office of Attorney General between Jan. 1, 2009, and Aug. 31, 2015. They will receive a letter from the Bureau of Consumer Protection concerning their eligibility.

Another $2,500 is a civil penalty, and $15,000 goes to the Attorney General's Office to offset the cost of the investigation and for education and public protection.

The settlement was filed in Commonwealth Court by Deputy Attorney General Nicole DiTomo of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

According to an affidavit of probable cause:

An investigation led to the conclusion that Rosado violated the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, the Automotive Industry Trade Practices, the Motor Vehicle Finance Sales Act, and Truth in Lending laws.

The false and misleading advertising includes claims that consumer's used autos were in high demand and/or the dealership had a buyer lined up, which was "not always accurate," according to the attorney general.

In some cases, the Rosado Group promised it would pay up to a certain price for a car, without making the disclosures required by law. At least one consumer was offered substantially less for his vehicle than the solicitation represented.

Direct mail advertisements failed to include required disclosures, which resulted in misleading or inaccurate claims about the terms being offered, the existence of discounts, and whether an offer is for the sale or lease of a vehicle.

The Rosado Group also sent notices to consumers that they had won a substantial prize and had to come to the dealership to collect it. The "prize" turned out to be entry into another contest. Ultimately, the prize was of little or no value.

The Rosado Group was also charged with "spot deliveries/yo-yo financing. The Group became the initial creditor making an installment loan, then sold the sales contract to a sales finance company. That company then changes the terms and the consumer has to come back to the dealership to renegotiate. In some cases, the consumer already had possession of the vehicle.

In several instances, the dealership would not allow the consumer to return the vehicle, although they were allowed to do that by law.

The Group was also charged with falsification of credit applications. The Group had consumers sign blank or incomplete credit applications. The Group then entered an inflated income figure, making the lender believe the consumer qualified for a bigger loan. Consumers then found themselves with bigger payments than they could manage.

They were also charged with aggressive or abusive sales tactics. Sales people sometimes took consumers' car keys to "evaluate" the worth of the vehicle, then refused to give them back.

The action was part of a sweep by Office of Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The sweep also included five other dealerships based in Dauphin, Fayette, Lackawanna and York counties, and Philadelphia; and Mike's Auto Sales of Kensington, Philadelphia.

The other dealerships are Big Daddy Auto of Uniontown; Credit Connection Auto Sales of Harrisburg, York, and Carlisle; Those Car Guys LLC of York County; Monopoly Motors of Philadelphia.

Consumers who wish to file a complaint regarding their purchase of new or used motor vehicles are encouraged to call the Bureau of Consumer Protection at 800-441-2555.