Three Chicago Men Charged with Odometer and Title Fraud

JUSTICE NEWS
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 3, 2022

A federal grand jury in Chicago, Illinois, returned an indictment, which was unsealed yesterday, charging three Illinois men with operating an odometer and title fraud scheme that involved hundreds of used cars over the course of many years.

According to court documents, Laith Ghzo, 36, of Oak Lawn, Hussein Ghzo, 40, of Palos Heights, and Musab Sawai, 35, of Worth caused the mileage of hundreds of used vehicles to be rolled back and altered title documents to reflect the false, low mileage. Those used vehicles were then sold to unsuspecting wholesale buyers and ultimately consumers, who paid more for those vehicles than they would have paid if they had known the truth about the vehicles’ mileages.

Laith Ghzo and Hussein Ghzo are charged with conspiracy to make counterfeit securities and commit mail fraud, making counterfeit securities and mail fraud. Musab Sawai is charged with conspiracy to make counterfeit securities and mail fraud. The defendants made their initial court appearances yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. If convicted, Laith Ghzo and Hussein Ghzo face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each mail fraud count, and Musab Sawai faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois, Acting Inspector in Charge Kai Pickens of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Chicago Division and Acting Administrator Ann Carlson of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made the announcement.

The NHTSA Office of Odometer Fraud Investigations and the Postal Inspection Service are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Joshua D. Rothman and Thomas Rosso of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik K. Raman for the Northern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case.

NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints. Individuals with information relating to odometer tampering should call (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761.

More information on odometer fraud is available on the NHTSA website https://one.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle-Safety/Odometer-Fraud and tips on detecting and avoiding odometer fraud are available at this page: www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nvs/pdf/811284.pdf.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

: View Original Story here

Former Moline Businessman sentenced to 41 months in connection with scam to rollback odometers at used car dealership

United States Of America Attorney Generals Office logo Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Iowa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 15, 2021

DAVENPORT, IA- On Tuesday, October 11, 2021, Bradley Shane McCorkle, age 51, formerly of Moline, Illinois, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey to 41 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to alter and rollback odometer mileage on used cars purchased by his Moline car dealership, 4th Avenue Auto Sales, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal. McCorkle and his co-conspirators tampered with the mileage readings on more than 150 vehicles that were later sold to unsuspecting buyers. The defendants used “straw buyers” to purchase vehicles in their names to “wash” the titles and insulate McCorkle and 4th Avenue from the criminal conduct.

McCorkle was also ordered to pay $85,204 in restitution, serve three years of supervised release following the period of imprisonment, and pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Department of Transportation, United States Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

East Moline Businessman sentenced to 37 months in connection with scam to rollback odometers at used car dealership

U.S. Attorneys » Southern District of Iowa » News
United States Of America Attorney Generals Office logo
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Iowa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 15, 2021

DAVENPORT, IA- On Tuesday, October 11, 2021, Isaac Bell, age 34, of East Moline, Illinois, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey to 37 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to alter and rollback odometer mileage on used cars purchased by his Moline car dealership, 4th Avenue Auto Sales, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal. McCorkle and his co-conspirators tampered with the mileage readings on more than 150 vehicles that were later sold to unsuspecting buyers. The defendants used “straw buyers” to purchase vehicles in their names to “wash” the titles and insulate Bell and 4th Avenue from the criminal conduct.

Bell was ordered to pay $85,204 in restitution, serve three years of supervised release following the period of imprisonment, and pay $100 towards the Crime Victims’ Fund.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Department of Transportation, Bureau of Investigation; United States Department of Transportation; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Former Missouri Resident Admits Role in Odometer Roll Back Scheme

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

District of Connecticut

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 8, 2021

Former Missouri Resident Admits Role in Odometer Roll Back Scheme

SUSAN L. CUNNINGHAM, 48, of Monroe, Connecticut, formerly of Blue Springs, Missouri, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea to one count of wire fraud stemming from the sale of numerous used vehicles with altered odometers.

Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding occurred via videoconference.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between approximately August 2014 and October 2015, Cunningham and Wilfredo J. Albanese, while residing in Missouri, sold more than 40 vehicles with altered odometers to unsuspecting purchasers. As part of the scheme, Cunningham and Albanese purchased high-mileage used vehicles and then used a variety of means to alter or reduce the mileage shown on the vehicles’ odometers. They also concealed mechanical issues with those vehicles by removing “check engine” lights from the instrument panels, providing buyers with phony maintenance receipts and vehicle history reports, and concealing rust and other damage to the vehicle through paint or other means. Cunningham and Albanese obtained Certificates of Title for the used vehicles they purchased. Under the assumed identities of the persons listed on those Certificates of Title, they advertised and sold the vehicles to customers on Craigslist.org. Most of the victim purchasers resided in Missouri.

On May 22, 2019, a grand jury in the Western District of Missouri returned a 20-count indictment charging Cunningham and Albanese with offenses related to this scheme. The case was subsequently transferred from the Western District of Missouri to the District of Connecticut for further prosecution.

Wire fraud carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Shea scheduled sentencing for April 30, 2021. Cunningham is released pending sentencing.

On July 15, 2020, Albanese pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. On October 9, 2020, he was sentenced to 42 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay $51,600 in restitution.

This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Freismuth of the District of Connecticut, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Casey of the Western District of Missouri.

NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the U.S. results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually. Individuals with information relating to odometer tampering should call NHTSA’s odometer fraud hotline at (888) 327-4236 or (202) 366-4761. More information on odometer fraud is available on the NHTSA website at https://www.nhtsa.gov/odometer-fraud.

Man pleads guilty in federal auto fraud case

By Tara Gray
Published: Sep. 2, 2020 at 6:25 PM EDT
DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) – One of six men charged in an auto fraud scheme involving a now-closed Moline used vehicle business has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Court records show Kendric Vendrell McCray pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. District Court, Davenport. The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, according to the written plea agreement.

He will be sentenced Jan. 14.

McCray and co-defendants Bradley Shane McCorkle, Isaac Bell, Derek Martinez, Keithen Deone McCorkle, and Nicholas T. McFarlin were indicted in November.

According to the plea agreement in McCray’s case:

4th Avenue Auto Sales, a used motor vehicle business at 4130 4th Avenue, Moline, was owned and operated by Bradly McCorkle and Bell.

The two men, through the business, bought cars from local auto dealers and auto auctions and accepted vehicle trade-ins.

McCray was acquainted with Bradley McCorkle for many years and, at times between 2012 and 2018, he worked for the business and performed odd jobs, such as mowing and driving cars for the business.

Generally, he was paid in cash by Bradley McCorkle.

Sometime between 2013 and 2018 or earlier, McCray, Bradley McCorkle, Bell, and others conspired to defraud the state of Iowa and purchasers of used motor vehicles by materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, and by the intentional concealment of material facts.

McCray helped to conceal the price paid for used motor vehicles, the identity of the true owner and seller of used motor vehicles, and concealed the vehicle history of the used motor vehicles.

He also helped to conceal the actual mileage on more than 150 used motor vehicles, as well as the vehicles’ operating conditions and sale price.

McCray acted as a straw buyer of used vehicle for 4th Avenue and assisted in having his name used on sale documents, applications for vehicle titles, and titles of dozens of used motor vehicles.

He as strictly as “nominee buyer” for 4th Avenue, Bradley McCorkle, Bell, and sometimes Keithen McCorkle and McFarlin.

McCray was paid around $30 in cash by Bradley McCorkle for each vehicle McCray fraudulently titled in his name.

By having vehicles put in his name and applying for vehicle titles in Davenport, McCray facilitated the “washing” of the title histories, which included removing the mileage figure that appeared on the titles.

He did not reset or alter the odometers of the motor vehicles but made false and fraudulent representations when he applied for titles and engaged in “phantom, false, and illusory” transactions to that it appeared he bought the vehicles when he had not.

McCray further concealed the amount of money involved in the vehicle transactions including the prices paid for the vehicles.

McCray is not a mechanic and had no tools or other means to repair a motor vehicle. “Bills of Sale” produced by 4th Avenue in connection with motor vehicle transactions purportedly between 4th Avenue and McCray contained notations that some or all of these sales were “mechanics specials.”

These were false representations by McCorkle that allowed the vehicles to appear to have a lower value when applying for the title, thus reducing taxes and fees.

McCray was aware that the vehicles placed in his name were changing hands through 4th Avenue and being sold by third parties, including McFarlin, Keithen McCorkle, and others.

He also was aware of the vehicle he purportedly purchased as a straw buyer was being advertised for sale online, including through postings on Craigslist.

Around Dec. 5, 2014, 4th Avenue purchased a 2008 Dodge Caliber from Central Petroleum Company in Blue Grass. The vehicle at the time of purchase had an odometer reading of 177,700 miles.

Ten days later, 4th Avenue assigned the title, which listed an odometer reading of 45,584 miles, to McCray. He then reassigned it back to 4th Avenue with 45,584 miles.

Around Dec. 23, 2014, the vehicle was reassigned from 4th Avenue to an unwitting buyer showing that it had 45,708 miles on it.

McCray executed the false title application, claiming to own the vehicle, but he did not pay 4th Avenue and never took possession of it, according to the plea agreement.

Bradley McCorkle and Bell are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, 10 counts of tampering with a motor vehicle odometer, and securities fraud involving a motor vehicle.

Keithen McCorkle, McFarlin, and Martinez are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud.

A trial is scheduled Sept. 29.

Original Story link here

Secretary Lawson provides restitution to victims of auto dealer scam

Gavel INDIANAPOLIS (May 29, 2020) — After receiving a consumer complaint about an auto dealer who illegally kept warranty payments, the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office has secured restitution for those affected by the crime.

In July 2019, a consumer contacted the Auto Dealer Services Division of the Secretary of State’s Office, claiming she had paid Stephens Automotive Group for a warranty, and that the warranty was never received by the warranty company. An investigator from Dealer Services reached out to the warranty company to confirm that Stephens Automotive Group had failed to transfers funds for several warranties, which failed to activate the warranties.

Multiple complaints followed over the next two months, and Dealer Services collected evidence verifying the consumer claims. In December 2019, an investigator from the Division met the owner of Stephens Automotive Group, where the owner admitted to not sending the money to the warranty company.

In February 2020, the Division issued an order for restitution requiring Stephens Automotive Group to pay a total of $8,673.00 to five consumers.

“I am proud of the work done by the Dealer Services Division, and very glad that this consumer complaint resulted in restitution,” said Secretary of State Connie Lawson. “Because of the cooperation between our Division, our constituents, and the warranty company, we were able to bring this case to a quick and fair conclusion.”

Consumers may file complaints against an Indiana auto dealership by visiting the Auto Dealer Services Division website at https://www.in.gov/sos/dealer/index.htm.

View Original Story here

https://calendar.in.gov/site/sos/event/secretary-lawson-provides-restitution-to-victims-of-auto-dealer-scam/

Car dealers linked to Columbia Count licenses revoked for odometer fraud

ARLINGTON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles has revoked the licenses for two car dealers with ties to Columbia County.

An investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Dealer and Agent Section found that Best Motors and Manhattan Motors sold vehicles with mileage discrepancies, which is in violation of state law. The dealerships have licenses operated out of Arlington, Wisconsin. The licenses are linked to a business at 101 Skyline Drive in Arlington. Under Wisconsin state law, each licensee must have an office location and Best Motors and Manhattan Motors are registered to this location.

It is possible that these licenses belong to dealerships operated in another state.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Dealer and Agent Section licenses, regulates and resolves disputes about dealerships sales and warranty repairs, as well as educates the motor vehicle industry and public. The group also investigates complaints about odometer tampering involving dealerships and private sellers.

Original Article: https://www.channel3000.com/news/two-columbia-county-car-dealerships-have-licenses-revoked-for-odometer-fraud/1105810604

Warrants reveal what police uncovered in odometer tampering investigation

BROWN COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) – Search warrants obtained by Target 2 Investigates reveal new information about a complex car fraud investigation in Northeast Wisconsin.

Robert Solberg and Joshua Taylor. Photos: Brown County Jail

Two men are accused of selling used vehicles with forged titles and altered odometers. In some cases, the odometers were rolled back. In other vehicles, they were replaced altogether.

Police say this happened over the past year at several locations in Wisconsin.

On June 3, Green Bay Police executed three search warrants and arrested Robert Solberg, 34, and Joshua Taylor, 37. The warrants were served at Solberg’s home, Taylor’s home, and a storage facility on Green Bay’s east side.

More than 40 pages of search warrants shed new light on the investigation. It started with one victim noticing handwriting on his vehicle’s title. The case took off from there.

WHAT WARRANTS TURNED UP

Warrants reveal that during searches of three properties, police seized six vehicles, phones, keys, titles, more than $4,000 in cash, and an odometer cluster–a tool used to alter mileage on a vehicle.

Officers also found multiple odometers. One was in a cardboard box. It had been shipped to Robert Solberg, warrants show.

The investigation started in March 2019. An odometer fraud investigator from the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles called Green Bay Police. The DMV needed help “with a report of title fraud and odometer tampering.”

A Brown County man had reported buying a GMC Yukon for $4,100 on Craigslist. He said he made the purchase from a man he didn’t know. He thought “the handwritten mileage on the title appeared forged from 214,450 miles to 114,459 miles.”

The odometer read the lower mileage, but was displaying an error code. He suspected some had “tampered with” it.

Police tracked down the original owner, who informed them that he had sold it days earlier–at nearly half the price. He said the vehicle had twice as many miles on it when he sold it.

The victim’s family started searching Craigslist and found more cars from the seller. There were listings around the state.

Police found another victim from Green Bay. He had purchased a vehicle that showed 114,000 miles on the odometer. However, he learned the vehicle’s real mileage was 300,000.

One witness told police “4-5 odometers [were] being shipped to [Solberg’s] house each week,” according to warrants. The documents state that Joshua Taylor bought the “odometer tool off eBay for $4,000.”

Police uncovered a voicemail from an Appleton store that had informed Solberg, “the odometer cluster he ordered was in stock.”

WHAT’S NEXT

The warrants indicate Solberg would find vehicles on Craigslist and Taylor would roll back the miles. They split the profit 50-50, documents show.

Police have referred counts of theft and forgery to the Brown County District Attorney’s Office. No charges have been filed as of this publication. The investigation continues.

Joshua Taylor is being held in the Brown County Jail on a probation violation.

Robert Solberg has been released from jail.

Since our initial Target 2 Investigates story aired June 4, police have received numerous calls from other victims. They believe there are many more out there. If you believe you’re a victim, contact your local law enforcement agency.

“If you are a Green Bay resident or this occurred in the City of Green Bay, we certainly want to know about it because they were doing it in Marinette County, Wausau,” Green Bay Police Lt. Ben Allen says. “If this occurred where a purchase was made in another jurisdiction, we definitely encourage them to contact their local agency and we’ll try to coordinate with them.”

Original Article: https://www.wbay.com/content/news/Warrants-reveal-what-police-uncovered-in-odometer-tampering-investigation-510986612.html

The Missouri Highway Patrol Just Cracked A Big Odometer Fraud Case — Here’s How To Check Your Car

*Odometer rollback schemes cost Americans $1 billion a year and is on the rise in Missouri.*

Like most big criminal cases, the odometer fraud ring that Missouri Highway Patrol Cpl. Nate Bradley recently busted started with one victim.

“A gentleman came to my shop here in Lee’s Summit and he said, ‘Hey, I bought this car, and I think I got swindled,'” Bradley recalls. “So I started looking into it and sure enough, he got swindled.”

Over a five-year investigation, Bradley eventually uncovered 48 victims of a rollback scheme around Kansas City, according to a grand jury indictment in a case that was recently unsealed.

Charged are 48-year-old Wilfred Albanese and his girlfriend, 47-year-old Susan Cunningham. The couple “purchased high-mileage used vehicles and then used a variety of means to alter or reduce the mileage shown on the odometer,” according to the indictment. They would also disable the check engine light, conceal rust and other damage with paint and alter maintenance records, all to make the car look better to their victims.

*Wilfred Albanese is charged with odometer fraud in a 20 count federal indictment. Missouri officials say odometer fraud jumped almost five percent from 2017 to 2018.*

Bradley says Albanese went to great lengths to sell the scheme. He had “KC” tattooed on an earlobe, even though he is not from Kansas City. “And then on the side of his neck, he had the Marine Corps emblem, the globe and anchor,” says Bradley, even though Albanese never served in any branch of the military. “So it made him look a little bit more honorable than he actually was.”

While charged in the 20-count indictment, neither Albanese nor Cunningham is in custody.

Odometer fraud is spiking

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates 450,000 cars are sold each year in the U.S. with rolled back odometers costing Americans more than $1 billion. In fact, NHTSA has federal agents who do nothing but odometer fraud investigations.

Missouri state officials are also seeing an increase. “Odometer fraud rose 4.7 percent in Missouri between 2017 and 2018,” Nick Humphrey, administrator of the Department of Revenue’s Compliance and Investigation Bureau, said in an email to KCUR.

Investigators say that many people believe that since odometers are now digital it is harder to roll them back. But just the opposite is true, and that is why fraud is on the rise. “Odometer technology has changed, and with that, the technology to roll them back has changed,” said Humphrey.

If you search YouTube for “odometer rollback tool” there are at least a dozen videos telling you what to buy and how to use them. On the web, however, they often are called odometer correction tools. One video is conveniently titled “Top 7 Best Odometer Correction Tools To Buy.”

Bradley from the Highway Patrol boils it down to this, “There’s an app for that.”

How to protect yourself when buying a used car

Bradley suggests buying a Carfax report as a starting point to check the mileage on a used car.

NHTSA also has some tips for buyers.

Compare the mileage on vehicle’s odometer with the mileage on the title, maintenance records or even oil change stickers.
Look at whether the numbers on the odometer align correctly or move when you hit the dashboard.
Check whether mileage matches the wear and tear on the vehicle.

“The mileage is a huge factor in the price of the car and when you roll the miles back 50,000 or 100,000 miles, you’re artificially inflating the value of that car,” Chris Basso with Carfax said in a video posted by Motorweek.org. Carfax is a company that provides histories of used cars.

Sam Zeff is KCUR’s metro reporter. You can follow Sam on Twitter @samzeff

Original Article: https://www.kcur.org/post/missouri-highway-patrol-just-cracked-big-odometer-fraud-case-heres-how-check-your-car#stream/0

News car odometer rolled back 45,000 miles by Denver-area business

LITTLETON, Colo. — The U.S. Justice Department calls it “clocking”: intentionally rolling back an odometer to make a vehicle appear less used.

Odometer rollback is “the single most common fraudulent issue in Colorado and nationwide.” That’s a bold statement made by one of this state’s top auto enforcement regulators.

So, based on a tip from one of our viewers, the FOX31 Problem Solvers decided to take a closer look at a business which advertises “odometer correction.”

Odo-Pro is a licensed business registered to the address of a corner house in Littleton.

State records show its owner is Peter Petrov Rains.

He sells parts and auto repair services, mostly through via mail.

Odometer repair and adjustment is permitted in some instances under the federal law. However, “if the mileage on the odometer cannot remain the same as before the service, the odometer must be reset to zero.”

What is not permitted is rolling miles on a vehicle backwards with the intent to defraud.

Here’s part of the federal law which says so:

327.03 A person may not

(2) disconnect, reset, alter, or have disconnected, reset, or altered, an odometer of a motor vehicle intending to change the mileage registered by the odometer;

(3) with intent to defraud..

The FOX31 Problem Solvers tested to see if Odo-Pro would reduce the miles, no questions asked, on one of our old news cars: a 2005 Dodge Durango.

We had a mechanic remove the odometer, which had 195,839 well-documented miles on it.

The FOX31 investigative team then printed off a single-sheet form we found on Odo-Pro’s website. It’s said “Odometer Correction Form” at the top.

We requested our odometer be programmed backwards — rolled back to 150, 839 — a 45,000-mile reduction.

The form required us to acknowledge that “altering the odometer for personal gain is illegal.”

And that “owners have a legal obligation to notify prospective purchasers if the vehicle’s mileage has been altered.”

We mailed our instrument cluster, an $89 cashier’s check from a local convenience store and that form to Odo-Pro in Littleton.

Four days later, our digital odometer came back in a box with “Peter Petrov’s” business card. The mileage was altered per our request: backward 45,000 miles from the original 195,839.

When the Problem Solvers team went to Odo-Pro to ask about its business practices, a man we’d seen working at Odo-Pro answered the door. He said he didn’t speak English. However, FOX31 was able to reach Peter Petrov Rains by phone from the front porch of the business address.

FOX31 asked Rains: “We had some complaints about your Odo-Pro business. That you’re essentially just rolling back odometers.”

Rains responded by telling our reporter, “What we do mainly, uh, we work only with parts. We don’t work on any kind of vehicles. We re-program clusters that have been replaced. So, we do pretty much what dealerships do. Just at a much lower cost.”

When FOX31 asked if he’d like to do an interview to explain how Odo-Pro’s “correction” program works, Rains declined.

While we were standing in front of Odo-Pro, it was hard not to notice the piles of boxes and packets heading to other states via the U.S. Postal Service: Florida, Virginia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, among others.

FOX31 called customers listed on packages, who confirmed some of the boxes indeed contained instrument clusters. None admitted to requesting rollbacks.

Chairman of the Automotive Service Association of Colorado, Brad Pellman, had never heard of Odo-Pro or Peter Rains before FOX31 called.

Pellman was curious how Rains was able to conduct a seemingly vibrant parts-and-services business correcting odometers.

“Until you brought it to my attention, I wasn’t even aware that this was being done by anybody but dealers or some kind of licensed secured facility that had the rights to do it,” Pellman told FOX31 during a recorded interview.

Pellman said that once in a great while, an auto-repair facility might re-set an odometer backwards for a vintage car or some other unique reason, but he says it’s not very common at all.

“Rolling back an odometer is certainly something we don’t even think about doing in our industry,” said Pellman. “The incentive seems to be that it would put less mileage on the odometers for a purpose I would consider fraudulent.”

FOX31 spoke with state and federal authorities who regulate and investigate reported cases of fraudulent odometer rollback services. Although declining on-camera interviews, agents said based on what happened with our TV vehicle’s odometer alone, they have serious questions about Odo-Pro’s business practices.

* FOX31 made certain the Durango — and that odometer — we used for this investigation would not be re-sold except for parts.

Original Article: https://kdvr.com/2019/05/21/news-car-odometer-rolled-back-45000-miles-by-denver-area-business/

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Working to deter odometer and title fraud

Category Archives: Midwest

Three Chicago Men Charged with Odometer and Title Fraud

Former Moline Businessman sentenced to 41 months in connection with scam to rollback odometers at used car dealership

East Moline Businessman sentenced to 37 months in connection with scam to rollback odometers at used car dealership

Former Missouri Resident Admits Role in Odometer Roll Back Scheme

Former Missouri Resident Admits Role in Odometer Roll Back Scheme

Man pleads guilty in federal auto fraud case

Secretary Lawson provides restitution to victims of auto dealer scam

Car dealers linked to Columbia Count licenses revoked for odometer fraud

Warrants reveal what police uncovered in odometer tampering investigation

Robert Solberg and Joshua Taylor. Photos: Brown County Jail

The Missouri Highway Patrol Just Cracked A Big Odometer Fraud Case — Here’s How To Check Your Car

News car odometer rolled back 45,000 miles by Denver-area business