Everything King Midas touched turned to gold. However, according to the Contra Costa Times the only thing turning into gold at 22 Midas shops, 8 in the East Bay, were the alleged "brake special" scams uncovered by the California Attorney General's office during stings from 2005 through 2007. The franchises include Midas shops on Main Street in Walnut Creek, Monument Boulevard in Concord, Village Parkway in Dublin, two shops on North Blackstone Avenue in Fremont, a pair of Hayward shops, one in San Leandro and four in San Jose. The franchise owner, Maurice Irving Glad, already operating under the terms of a 20-year-old injunction that set permanent restrictions on his companies over the same practices, has been charged with bait-and-switch practices that cost nearly $300 on average in unneeded, and in some cases unperformed, brake service. Mr. Glad's attorney decries the charges as unfounded and based on "rigged" evidence. According to the Attorney General's allegations, the Midas shops used "brake specials" to draw in customers, then made false or misleading statements to pressure customers to buy unnecessary parts and services. In some cases customers were promised work that was never done. In other cases customers did not receive proper paperwork, or appropriate tests were not done before a diagnosis.
