Springfield auto shop owners who allegedly took money for repairs and didn’t deliver are now facing felony charges from the Attorney General’s office.
Queen City Rod & Custom has been under fire from customers who say the shop charged them for repairs and then returned cars with poor workmanship or in a worse condition than before.
Hillary Deckard and Reed Arnold, who owned and operated Queen City Rod & Custom, face 18 felony charges each, including nine counts of deceptive business practice, seven counts of stealing $750 or more and two counts of financial exploitation of an elder or disabled person.
In the court documents filed, attorney general’s office investigator Garrett Bentlage alleges that nine consumers reported a loss of $62,485.20 after hiring the company “to provide services that were never performed as promised” from October 2021 to September 2023. Bentlage also says that none of the consumers received refunds in the amounts they paid.
The probable cause statement says that Deckard deposited consumer funds into Bank of America accounts, but that records show money deposited into the accounts “were not used as stated to consumers.”