SCAM ADS TARGETING LATINO CUSTOMERS CRITICS SAY GREATER REGULATION NEEDED.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

Health plans with no doctors. Jobs with no employers. Credit cards with no magnetic strips.

Those are a sampling of the fraudulent offers targeted at Latinos, who federal officials say are swindled at twice the rate of non-Hispanic whites.

Consumer protection groups say lax enforcement of federal regulations for Spanish-language broadcast and print ads benefits hucksters peddling herbal weight-loss programs, overnight breast enhancement pills and other bogus goods.

``The opportunities for fraud are more prolific in Spanish-language media,'' said Alejandra Cedillo, a consumer attorney for Pacoima-based Neighborhood Legal Services. ``There are regulations out there, but there is not as much attention paid to Spanish-language media as there is for English-language media.''

Regulators say they are working harder to monitor and subsequently prosecute deceitful vendors who advertise in Spanish.

The Federal Trade Commission began a Spanish-language media campaign and partnered with law enforcement in 11 cities, including Los Angeles, that are home to some of the country's largest or fastest-growing Latino populations.

``We want to try and prevent fraud before it happens,'' said Laura Koss, coordinator for the FTC's Hispanic Law Enforcement Initiative.

But, she admits, the FTC often relies on community-based organizations to report fraud, and it was not until 2003 that the agency began a Spanish-language monitoring campaign. Moreover, immigrants are the least likely to report fraud.

Still, she said, ``You have got to start somewhere.''

Last month, the FTC announced a nationwide crackdown and sought to freeze the assets of telemarketers who posed as government representatives selling registration to auto mechanic classes.

The federal government's interest involves a problem that has been seen for years in Southern California, said Pastor Herrera Jr., director of the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs.

More than one-third of the 250,000 annual complaints fielded by the county department come from people who only speak Spanish. Many involve out-of-state companies that are difficult for local law enforcement to go after.

Herrera said he's hopeful high-profile cases will scare dishonest sellers and prompt legislators to create more forceful federal laws.

``There wasn't a sensitivity to the extent of the problem,'' he said. ``Hopefully, this is a new chapter in the way prosecutorial agencies look at fraud.''

In September, the FTC secured a restraining order and froze the assets of Miami-based Pro Line Card LLC, a bogus credit card company. Its ads promised to improve the customer's credit without asking for a Social Security number, implying that noncitizens could get in on the deal.

``They want to maximize their market share of undocumented people,'' said Joseph Ridout, who heads up the hotline for San Francisco-based Consumer Action. ``They are talking to a community that relies on a cash economy, a less litigious society that is more likely to overlook the fine print.''

Cecilia Sanchez, a Sun Valley resident, never read a contract before sending Pro Line a money order for $299 - more than half her bimonthly income as a housekeeper.

Excited and wanting to surprise her 24-year-old daughter with a computer for her birthday, Sanchez called the phone number from a television ad, gave the operator personal information and promised to send a money order to a Florida address.

A few weeks later, she received a card with no magnetic strip. No store accepted it. She called the Florida company. The line was busy. She called again and again.

``It was so traumatic. I don't want other people to go through this,'' she said.

Ken McEldowney, executive director of Consumer Action, has pushed for years for more oversight of Spanish-language broadcasters.

``We have gone through years of (media) deregulation. And there has not been the commitment to provide the budget for regulatory agencies that would allow them to do an adequate job,'' McEldowney said.

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

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(1 -- 3) At right, Cecilia Sanchez of Sun Valley paid $299 for a Pro Line card and credit line that turned out to be useless. Above are some TV ads aimed at Latinos.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer