Valley Business Accused of Defrauding Several Customers

NEWSCHANNEL 5 investigates

MCALLEN - His customers call him a con artist. Many of them say he took their money and their cars then disappeared, so they called NEWSCHANNEL 5 for help.

"He makes promises, never keeps them. Keeps your money, yur car," says Linda Ceballos.

Joe Vasquez says it happened to him too. He paid Hinojosa $1,500 in March and has nothing to show for it, not even his 1966 Pontiac.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 talked to customers from as far away as Dallas, and it's the same story.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 went to Performance International to see what happened. All we found was a pile of car parts and a locked up building. NEWSCHANNEL 5's Will Ripley tracked down the owner of Performance International, Mando Hinojosa, to get some answers.

We tracked down where Hinojosa lived and attempted to get an interview. Initially he refused, but he agreed a few days later to speak.

We asked him about all the allegations. He said most of the people complaining owed him money.

"Pretty much. Yes sir. A good 95% of them," he says.

Hinojosa also told us he was planning on re-opening his business.

But the owner of the building tells a different story. He says he's changed the locks and is trying to rent the building out.

So far, nine owners have picked up their cars. And another half dozen need to do so.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 has learned that several of the customers and at least one bank is suing Hinojosa for thousands of dollars.

We've also learned that police are also investigating several theft complaints against him.

Anyone who feels they may have been ripped off by Mando Hinojosa is urged to file complaints with the Texas Attorney General's office.

The Consumer Protection Hotline number is 1-800-621-0508.