A former Oakland-based company and two people have been convicted of illegally towing the vehicles of Alameda County residents, according to prosecutors.
The Alameda County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Thursday that Private Property Impound Inc. pleaded no contest and was convicted of one felony count of tax evasion — and along with Wayne Daniel Russo, Jr., 37, and Stephanie Marie Gipson, 36 — were sentenced to one felony count of illegally towing vehicles from private property.
The charges against Private Property Impound stemmed from a 2018 news report that described it as “one of the worst offenders in the East Bay” for illegally towing cars. The Public Prosecution Service conducted an investigation and filed charges against the company in 2020, but the case remained largely dormant until 2023.
Prosecutors said the three defendants have agreed to pay nearly $500,000 to reimburse the victims whose cars they illegally towed. They agreed to pay $75,000 to cover the costs of hiring professional claims administration firm Verita to contact potential victims and administer the restitution fund.
According to prosecutors, the defendants paid a total of more than $333,000 in back taxes, interest and investigation fees to the California Franchise Tax Board to satisfy all reported tax shortfalls for the years in question.
Prosecutors said Russo Jr. furthermore, was sentenced to 90 days in prison for his part in the illegal towing scheme, and that he must serve house arrest with electronic monitoring, on the condition that all outstanding amounts are deposited into the restitution fund.
Gipson, meanwhile, was placed on probation for 90 days and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
“I am pleased that our reformed Consumer, Environmental and Special Counsel was able to bring this complex, long-running case to a successful conclusion,” District Attorney Pamela Price said in a statement. “Illegal towing disproportionately affects our community’s most vulnerable residents, for whom the family car can be a lifeline to get to work, take their children to school and seek medical care.”
According to Price, her office will work with the claims administrator to create a formal claim form that will be sent to 8,000 potential victims in three languages.
