A Gilroy furniture store is under fire for allegedly scamming customers and operating without a business license for months, according to the Gilroy Police Department.
Several Gilroyans recently filed complaints with the GPD after paying hundreds of dollars for items they never received at American Furniture, 8797 San Ysidro Road, next to Gold’s Gym. After receiving three formal complaints beginning last week, police are opening a fraud investigation against its owner, “Peter” Hung Truong.
A drive-by of the now empty American Furniture store Friday morning revealed that Truong has been evicted from the building. An official eviction notice slapped on the door by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s on May 23 indicates the landlord tried to get his Tennant Avenue evicted back in February. But Truong continued to do business from the San Ysidro store until mid-May, despite the eviction process.
One woman told police she spent $1,900 up front at the store earlier this month, and never received the delivery promised to her by the store’s owner. Another reporting party said she paid a $300 cash deposit for a furniture set on May 6 and did not receive her delivery, either. A third incident involved a family that allegedly paid a $700 deposit for furniture they never received.
The GPD is working on turning these complaints into official reports when further details will become available. The case has been assigned to GPD Det. Stan Devlin.
An Internet search suggests Truong has been scamming people at his furniture store for quite some time.
American Furniture has one star on the business review website Yelp – the lowest rating a company can have – with six reviewers ranting at how the business ripped them off dating back to last summer. Another three reviewers on Google Plus talk about their own experiences of allegedly being scammed by Truong. The Better Business Bureau also gives American Furniture a grade of “F” based on two complaints filed by customers.
“I’m a stickler for integrity, and American Furniture just doesn’t have any,” wrote Amy T. from San Jose on Yelp earlier this month. “ We ordered two couches from them back in March and were promised that it would be delivered within two weeks. It has now been five.”
Another commenter put it more bluntly.
“Avoid this store. They sweet talk you to cover their fraud and lies. They never stick to their word, respond to calls or meet their commitments,” wrote Nesser F. of Gilroy in July 2012.
The company also owes the Gilroy Dispatch for $4,500 in unpaid advertisements, according to Publisher Dana Arvig.
“We have been unsuccessful reaching anyone at the business to collect a large past due balance for advertising,” Arvig said.
After getting the “run around” by several employees at American Furniture about the debt, Arvig went to the shop herself last week to find that it had closed.
Police Sgt. Pedro Espinoza said the furniture store has been operating without a business license for months.
Finance Director Christina Turner for the City of Gilroy said the business informed City staff back in October that it was closing. The company’s business license, which was issued in January 2012, expired at the end of 2012 and was not renewed.
“Larry” Loi Pham of House of Image Furniture in San Jose was listed as a co-owner on the business license in 2012. The checks written to the Dispatch last year for advertising (which bounced) were from the House of Image.
Pham insists that he stepped out of the business when he learned that Truong was “cheating the people.”
“I called the City of Gilroy in October and closed it and took my name off the business,” Pham said in broken English. “I thought he was a good guy, but he wasn’t.”
Espinoza said the next step in the investigation is to make contact with Truong and to get the victims to pick his photo out of a lineup.
This is a developing story. If you have any tips about American Furniture or Peter Truong, call the Gilroy Police Department at (408) 846-0350. Parties wishing to remain anonymous may call We-Tip at 1-800-782-7463 (800-78-Crime).
