A Local 10 viewer who decided to Call Christina said he got "ripped off" by a man once dubbed a "golf cart con man."
Company owner Frank Provenzano denies the viewer's allegations.
The man said the golf cart he got wasn't what he ordered.
Local 10 News consumer advocate Christina Vazquez uncovered similar complaints filed with state regulators against the Golf Cart Warehouse.
The Call Christina team hit the road for this man, driving to the company's headquarters outside of Tampa to get answers, and while there they uncovered the company owner has a lengthy criminal record in Pinellas County.
'This guy is ripping me off'
When Gary Dubeck of Key West dropped more than $6,000 on a golf cart he ordered with the Golf Cart Warehouse, his contract stated it would be "street legal."
The technical term is a "low-speed vehicle" whose top speed is greater than 20 mph but not greater than 25 mph.
Dubeck said it barely goes 16 mph. He also said he paid extra money for a black top, but upon delivery found it to be a tan top that had been painted black and the fender well rubs on the rear tires.
He took two laps around a parking lot with two people on board.
"You can see where the plastic melted on the tire, as well as melted on the fender," Dubeck said. "This guy is ripping me off."
Pattern of complaints
It is a sentiment shared by other consumers who have complained about the company to state regulators.
In 2015, a Brooksville man told state regulators that the company "delivered a bad product." He cited problems that included batteries older than promised, a frayed and unusable charger and the cart quit running minutes after use.
A man from Fort Meyers Beach told the Florida Attorney General's Office that the golf cart he ordered from the Golf Cart Warehouse was delivered with headlights that would not work and brakes that locked up.
"I was ripped off for a worn out golf cart," he wrote in 2013 in a separate complaint filed with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. "Since purchase I had to spend another $850 and it still isn't SAFE to use!!!! I NEED THE STATE OF FLORIDA'S HELP!!!!"
In 2012, an Orlando woman told the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services the golf cart she purchased online with the Golf Cart Warehouse was delivered with the wrong color paint, a rip in the tan seats and a broken windshield.
Three different consumers said their carts had trouble minutes after delivery.
2012: "Cart broke within 10 minutes of driving"
2014: "The thing start bucking in 10 mins"
2015: "Quit running after minutes of use"
'Palm Harbor Golf Cart Con Man'
When the Call Christina team arrived at the company's headquarters, they were told company owner Frank Provenzano was out of town in Georgia.
No one answered the door when the Call Christina team also visited his waterfront home.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office provided Local 10 News a copy of Provenzano's mug shot. He has a rap sheet in Pinellas County dating back to 1999.
Court records show he's served time on a range of charges from cocaine possession and grand theft to unlicensed roofing contracting and unlicensed general contracting. In the cases cited, he pleaded no contest.
A 2011 a blog post labeled him the "Palm Harbor Golf Cart Con Man," and the Better Business Bureau states it has received complaints alleging non-delivery, poor product quality and poor customer service.
In an email to Local 10 News, Provenzano accused Dubeck of wanting free parts.
Dubeck, who is now spending more money to fix the golf cart, told Local 10 News, "I want what I bought."
The inspection
In an e-mail, the company's owner told Local 10 News that Dubeck's golf cart "has been inspected by (the Florida Department of Transportation) and passed inspection."
Vazquez checked. The DOT said it does not inspect golf carts.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles does, but explained how the inspection process involves the owner self-certifying that everything is in working order as part of the application process for registering and titling a low speed vehicle.
That would mean when Provenzano stated that it "passed inspection," what he means is that he told the state everything was good to issue a title, not that the golf cart, converted to a low-speed vehicle, passed a rigorous inspection by regulators. The department recommends to anyone making a major investment of a low-speed vehicle or motor vehicle to inspect it in person if at all possible.
Low-speed vehicles
Dubeck told Local 10 News he also thought he was getting a 2015 "street legal" golf cart from Provenzano. The technical term is low-speed vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration allows a golf cart to be converted to a low-speed vehicle.
When he received the title, he thought "2015" meant it was a 2015 model. But once he had the golf cart, he learned it was a 2012 model based on the serial number on the Club Car golf cart.
A Florida number will be assigned to the converted low-speed vehicle. That means the year for the vehicle listed on the title is the year it was converted and not the model year of the golf cart.
Click here to see how to locate a Club Car serial number.