Four former employees of Gunderson Chevrolet in El Monte, Calif., were sentenced April 8 after pleading no contest to fraud-related charges, according to authorities.

The men, employees of the largest Chevrolet dealership in California, were charged with defrauding more than 1,000 consumers by putting hidden costs in auto sales contracts.

The former former employees, along with three others, were indicted last year after a yearlong investigation by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Investigators said they learned that Gunderson employees overcharged customers for F&I products and services and changed the terms of deals with informing customers. The customers were cheated out of as much as $6,000 each, according to Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey McGrath.

The most frequent scam, according to McGrath, involved charging customers up to $3,000 for a theft protection system that cost the dealership $37. The extra fees were hidden in the monthly payments.

In other cases, Gunderson customers were tricked into thinking they had bought a vehicle when they had in fact leased it, accoridng to McGrath.

The fraud was committed from early 1999 until May 2000, according to the prosecutor.

James Michael Hoban, the dealership's general manager, pleaded no contest to conspiring to make untrue or misleading statements in the sale of cars. Hoban, 46, of Irvine, Calif., was sentenced to six months in jail, placed on five years' probation, and was ordered to pay a fine and perform community service.

Former finance director Michele Davis, 56, of Norco, Calif., pleaded no contest to the same felony charge and also received six months in jail and five years' probation.

Formed used-car manager Randolph Samuel Cooper, 37, of Irvine, Calif., pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of making untrue or misleading statements in the sale of a car and was fined and sentenced to three years' probation.

Former finance manager Donald Poteete, 57, of San Marino, Calif., pleaded no contest to conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced to three years in prison (suspended), and six months in jail, according to McGrath. Poteete was also fined and ordered to perform community service. He received the stiffest sentence because he had the most direct contact with the fraud victims, McGrath said.

Hoban, Davis and Poteete were ordered to surrender their auto sales licenses. They will be allowed to serve their jail terms through an electronic monitoring program.

In February, former finance manager Patrick Fisher was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years' probation in exchange for pleading guilty and cooperating with prosecutors.

The remaining defendants, Ronald Crumer and Hamid Ghanian, are still awaiting trial, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The dealership, part of the megadealer chain AutoNation, which is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is now called Chevrolet of El Monte.

AutoNation spokesman Oscar Suris said the company had cooperated with authorities in their investigation.

AutoNation has paid about $2.8 million in penalties and restitution to resolve a civil case filed by the district attorney's office and the DMV, according to McGrath.