A civil case was filed Thursday by the Douglas County District Attorney’s office alleging an illegal car sales operation in Lawrence.

The case was filed under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act against Todd A. Campbell, Shaktivir Manohar, Hariom Manohar and Waterview Motors LLC.

The petition alleges the defendants engaged in a number of consumer transactions in Douglas County that violate the Consumer Protection Act. Among the allegations are that consumers were not provided required warranty information, notice of a three-day right to cancel or that the cars offered for sale didn’t belong to individual owners.

“Consumers were misled into believing they were dealing with individuals rather than someone claiming to be a dealer,” District Attorney Charles Branson said.

That is a process commonly known as “curbstoning,” Branson said. In the transactions, buyers are taking all the risks and getting none of the protections that licensed local dealers have to provide when they sell used cars, he said. That is unfair to the consumers and the auto suppliers who are abiding by the law, he said.

The action taken by the district attorney follows criminal charges that were filled recently against Shaktivir Manohar for altering the chain of title, which is a misdemeanor, and falsifying sales price information, a felony. The consumer was an elderly Lawrence resident who was sold a car.

The district attorney has been working on the cases with the assistance of the Kansas Department of Revenue.