Call 11 for Action: Is history repeating itself? Auto body shop has settled a slew of lawsuits in small claims court

TOLEDO, Ohio — Brianna Saldivar said it has been a battle to get her car back.

"This is the most horrendous thing I've ever gone through," Saldivar said.

Call 11 for Action first brought you Saldivar's story last week.

Saldivar's car has been stuck at 5 G's Auto Recycling, where Dennis Futrel is listed as one of the owners.

"He (Futrel) said 'it'll be done in three days, I already got it taken apart,'" Saldivar said.

Three days came and went. Then three weeks, to three months and still no car.

Now, seven months have passed and there has been barely any progress made.

"He's given me every excuse in the book," Saldivar said.

From parts on back order to being sick, and a broken phone, Brianna's heard it all, so our team wanted to hear it for ourselves.

As we've reported, Futrel told 11 Investigates that Brianna didn't have deductible money for him, but he does have nearly $6,000 from her insurance.

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Futrel did promise to have the car done last Tuesday, but that didn't happen. Our team decided to look into Futrel's background.

According to court documents, from 2010 to 2014, Futrel forked over tens of thousands of dollars to settle lawsuits. 

One customer said their catalytic converter was stolen while at Futrel's shop, and then their tires and rims were switched out. Futrel had to pay $500.

Another customer said their catalytic converter was also gone when they picked their van up. The court made Futrel pay $2,000.

Then, there is a complaint that states they took their car to Futrel for a new motor. But the car was later found on Ranch Avenue because Futrel "rented" out the car to his buddy. Futrel had to pay $3,000.

If 5 G's Auto Recycling doesn't sound familiar, KNK Auto Recycling might. That is Futrel's previous company, named in court documents.

Insurance companies have also taken him to court, so why is Saldivar's insurance not able to? That's a question 11 Investigates asked her insurance company, Direct Auto, but was never given a response.

So what now?

When it comes to getting her car or money, Saldivar's ask is simple: "Best case scenario, just give me the car back," Saldivar said.

11 Investigates asked Futrel to do an interview on camera the first time that our team spoke with him, but he did not want to.

Toledo police are now involved and investigating the situation.

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