Category Archives: News Articles

Sales of vehicles with rolled-back odometers lead to lengthy jail sentence

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A North York man has been sentenced to 450 days in prison after being found guilty of odometer tampering. Mehran Amini received the longest sentence ever handed out in Ontario for illegal vehicle sales, according to a statement from the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC). The statement said Amini was charged after OMVIC investigators discovered he’d purchased 30 vehicles from Western Canada, and shipped them to Ontario. A North York man has been sentenced to 450 days in prison after being found guilty of odometer tampering and ‘curbsiding.’ Amini then rolled back the odometers on the vehicles, which were mostly late-model pick-up trucks with high mileage, investigators said. “They are vehicles that could be near end-of-life, but they were paying huge dollars — $30 to $40,000 — for these vehicles,” OMVIC Director of Communications Terry O’Keefe told CTV Toronto’s Pat Foran. “The warranties were all canceled.” O’Keefe said some of the odometers had been rolled back as much as 150,000 kilometres. The vehicles were sold to residents of the Toronto area, including Sean Wedge. “Buying this truck was a financial disaster,” Wedge told CTV Toronto. “I thought it had 52,000 kilometres which it had 180,000 kilometres. I had to do more than $22,000 in repairs.” Amini’s case was heard by a judge who found him guilty of violations of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act and the Consumer Protection Act, including “curbsiding.” Curbsiding is the illegal practice of reselling vehicles without having the registered title to a car being sold. “Evidence presented in court showed Amini placed ads in online marketplaces posing as a private seller, though he told some buyers he was a dealer, and that he used multiple aliases,” OMVIC’s statement said. Amini was convicted and sentenced to 450 days in prison, but is appealing his sentence. Records showed … Continue Reading

Criminal Charges Filed After CBS4 Hidden Camera Catches Auto Dealer Red Handed

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AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – An Aurora auto dealer has been shut down after an undercover investigation by CBS4, and the attorney general’s office has now filed criminal charges against the dealership.The undercover investigation began when Annette Martin reached out to CBS4. Now the State of Colorado Motor Vehicle Dealer Board has closed CMC Auto. “I “I ran my own Carfax and right at the beginning it showed ‘total loss,’” Martin said. She bought a used Hyundai Tucson from CMC but claims she was not told the SUV was salvaged, and the 44,000 miles on the odometer was actually supposed to be 83,000. She discovered the vehicle’s problems after the purchase. Martin eventually got her money back, but within days the vehicle was back up for sale by the dealer. “That made me very upset,” Martin said. With a hidden camera an undercover CBS4 producer looked at the SUV after Martin returned the Hyundai. The manager, Martin Bernuy, never told the undercover producer the SUV was salvaged or about the odometer’s replacement. In fact, now the odometer replacement sticker was removed, which is a federal offense. CBS4’s Jennifer Brice confronted Bernuy. “But you were still trying to sell it after she brought it back knowing the problems with the car,” Brice said. “Why did you think that was okay?” “I didn’t think it was okay, that’s the reason I didn’t sell it here,” Bernuy replied. Bernuy told Brice he sold the Hyundai back to the auction. The state’s Motor Vehicle Dealer Board began investigating CMC Auto after CBS4’s story aired. Bernuy also told an investigator he sold the car back to the auction but they discovered the Hyundai was sold to a man named Jim. Jim says he was not told about the odometer or salvage issue. The state’s full investigation looked … Continue Reading

8 from St. Louis area sentenced for vehicle title fraud ring

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ST. LOUIS • Eight St. Louis-area men and women have been sentenced for their involvement in a ring that altered vehicle documents to obtain loans, prosecutors said Thursday. The ring altered documents to remove lienholders before selling the vehicles or to obtain new loans, prosecutors said. They also reduced the value of the vehicles on documents or changed the state of residence of owners to dodge taxes and license fees, they said. Federal, state and local investigators were able to document $311,000 in losses due to the scheme, but estimate that the true loss amount approached $1 million. The eight defendants received prison terms ranging from probation to more than 11 years in prison. The final defendant in the case, Justin Carter, 22, of St. Louis, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison. The leader, Randall Hinton, 33, of St. Louis was sentenced Aug. 11 to 11 years, four months in prison, prosecutors said. Original Article: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/from-st-louis-area-sentenced-for-vehicle-title-fraud-ring/article_caf48294-7e55-5095-9ab7-c77e17635956.html 

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Two accused of car scam

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Two accused of car scam Two men are accused of running a car racket in which they sold second-hand vehicles with false odometer readings. Police allege the men bought 20 vehicles with high kilometre readings on sales websites this year. They then allegedly bought car parts, including odometers with lower readings, from wreckers and swapped them into the vehicles before selling them to unsuspecting buyers. The men also allegedly changed log book records to match the modifications and removed service stickers from vehicles. By wiping off thousands of kilometres, the vehicles appeared newer and worth more, police claim. Regional investigations unit officers swooped on the pair after spotting two sales advertisements for what they alleged was the same vehicle with different odometer readings. Officers raided a Victoria Park property and allegedly seized documentation, vehicle service stamps and log books connected to the fraudulent modifications and sales. The men, who are in Australia on student visas, allegedly made almost $40,000 profit from the scam this year. One man who allegedly bought a Holden sedan from the pair said the odometer showed it had done 80,000km but he was told by police it had actually travelled 180,000km. He claimed a check by a mechanic had not picked up the illegal modification. “It’s a safety issue as well as an expense – because the car has been driven more than I thought, it will probably have more problems and because it had been tampered with, it isn’t even worth what it would have been with the correct odometer reading,” he claimed. Police have charged a 28-year-old man with 19 counts of gains benefit by fraud and one count of attempted gains benefit by fraud. A 27-year-old man has been charged with 19 counts of gains benefit by fraud and two counts of attempted … Continue Reading

Couple accused of running a chop shop

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David Bernando Cruz Joselyn Cruz TAVARES — A two-county investigation has shut down an Astatula chop shop whose operators are accused of dealing in stolen cars from three states, authorities said. David Bernando Cruz, 30, and his wife, Joselyn Cruz, 31, were charged with operating a chop shop. David Cruz has been released from the Lake County Jail after posting a $50,000 bond. Joselyn Cruz was jailed in Osceola County on the same bail. Lake County detectives began investigating the two after receiving information from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office regarding the couple having a large amount of vehicles to sell and looking for a place to get rid of them. The couple allegedly stole vehicles throughout Florida, as well as in Alabama and Georgia, with a tow truck they owned. They reportedly rolled back the mileage and covered up any damage to the vehicles. It also was alleged that David Cruz would get vehicles from owners who couldn’t make their car payments under an agreement that he would assume the payments. He then allegedly hid those vehicles from repossession companies until he could obtain fraudulent titles on the vehicles and resell them. Lake County sheriff’s detectives eventually learned of a warehouse at 14200 Corkwood Lane in Astatula,where the couple had allegedly been hiding vehicles. Detectives executed a search warrant on the property in Astatula and discovered 16 vehicles, two of which were confirmed stolen, and some with missing vehicle identification numbers. The owner of a car dealership in Osceola County allegedly agreed to allow the couple to use his lot for a portion of the proceeds. Lake sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Jones said Tuesday that an investigation recently wrapped up by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office included evidence gathered during a search of the auto sales business. Following the search, … Continue Reading

Woodland Hills man will go to jail for odometer tampering

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A man who was once a top salesman at a San Fernando Valley car dealership was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison for conspiring to roll back vehicle odometers in a scheme in which people paid up to $400 to avoid penalties for exceeding mileage limits on leases or to increase auto trade-in values. Jeffrey Levy, a former salesman at Galpin Ford in North Hills, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon getting out of prison and to pay restitution of about $115,800 to the owners of 21 cars with altered odometers. U.S. District Judge George H. King ordered that $35,000 of the amount be paid immediately. The judge also prohibited the 62-year-old Woodland Hills resident from employment related to the purchase, sale, leasing, or financing of new or used motor vehicles during the period of supervised release and ordered him to undergo treatment for mental health issues and a gambling addiction. Levy “defrauded his dealership and multiple customers,” undermining “the trust that people have” when they purchase or lease a car, King said. The defendant told the court prior to sentencing that he would “probably deserve” whatever penalty came his way, adding that there were “so many things I could do for the federal government rather than be incarcerated.” King ordered Levy to surrender to federal authorities on April 20 to begin his sentence. A co-defendant, Shamai Salpeter, 65, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit odometer tampering and is expected to be sentenced April 13. While working at the dealership, Levy referred customers, including friends, to Salpeter, who charged $100 to $400 to roll back the odometer readings, which he did using electronic tools in the driveway of his Woodland Hills home, federal prosecutors said. Levy then accepted the vehicles for lease … Continue Reading

Authorities arrest 28 suspects in connection with vehicle theft operation

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A total of 28 suspects were arrested throughout Southern California on Feb. 26 during a multi-agency investigation into a large-scale vehicle theft operation, according to California Highway Patrol. The investigation was spearheaded by the CHP Border Division’s Orange County Auto Theft Task Force (O.C.A.T.T.), along with the Ontario Police Department and more than 15 other state and local agencies from four counties. Suspects who were wanted for vehicle theft, identity theft, credit card and insurance fraud were arrested in various cities. The operation “Hogg Life” developed after an extensive investigation in which O.C.A.T.T. investigators identified 47 suspects, 125 stolen vehicles and several local businesses from information stemming from a traffic enforcement stop by the Ontario P.D. The investigation involved the fraudulent removal of lien holders (legal owners) from the vehicles’ titles, commonly known as “Title Washing.” These vehicles were then utilized to commit various additional crimes throughout Southern California. The coordination of resources from numerous multi-jurisdictional task forces and agencies resulted in 103 vehicles being recovered or accounted for. In addition, as a result of the operation, three weapons were seized and 18 additional vehicles were identified as either possibly stolen, vin-switched or fraudulently purchased. Original Article: http://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/article_b6060e62-bf91-11e4-bdaf-33e7e10ecf2b.html

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Former Car Dealer Gets Shock Incarceration for Altering Odometers

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield car dealer was sentenced Wednesday for rolling back the mileage on cars he sold. Ashley Bolton, who owned Excel Auto Group, must serve 30 days in shock-incarceration at the Greene County Jail, along with five years of supervised probation. This shock-incarceration comes as part of a suspended sentence of four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. If Bolton does not finish the shock-incarceration program, he will be moved to the Missouri Department of Corrections to serve the four-year prison sentence. Bolton is also banned form working as or for a licensed automobile dealer and must provide restitution to consumers. The amount of restitution will be decided during a hearing on March 10. In 2013, Attorney General Chris Koster charged Bolton with two felony counts of unlawful merchandising practices. He pleaded guilty in September 2014. An investigation by Koster’s office and other organizations revealed Bolton misrepresented the actual mileage of vehicles being offered for sale by Excel Auto Group in 2011 and 2012. According to Koster, in one case, Bolton bought a car with more than 180,000 miles then sold it representing it had only 99,000 miles. In another, Bolton bought a car with nearly 220,000 miles then sold it less than a month later with an odometer reading of 119,000 miles. Consumers who suspect odometer fraud should call the Missouri Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-392-8222 or file a complaint on the website. Orginial Artice: http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/d/story/former-car-dealer-gets-shock-incarceration/36986/LzW6CM8hlUKNh_Vwu9d_4Q

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Car dealer who fraudulently sold cars damaged in Hurricane Sandy gets 3 years in prison

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Jonathan Olin, 42, of Manalapan, was sentenced to three years in prison today for orchestrating the creation of false vehicle titles in order to sell cars damaged during Hurricane Sandy, state authorities said. (Courtesy of N.J. Attorney General’s Office) TRENTON — A Middlesex County car dealer who used fraudulent vehicle titles to sell cars damaged during Hurricane Sandy was sentenced today to three years in state prison, state authorities said. Jonathan Olin, 42, of Manalapan, for former operator of D&D Auto Sales in Old Bridge, admitted in August that he obtained fraudulent “clean” titles for eight vehicles, seven of which were sold to unsuspecting customers by Pinky N Brain Corp., doing business as D&D. One of his associates, Jessie Dinome, 30, of Jackson, a former employee at the Freehold Motor Vehicle Agency, accessed state computers to create the false titles, the state Attorney General’s Office said. Dinome was sentenced to probation in October. The seven vehicles were sold for a total of about $86,000, authorities said. Olin pleaded guilty to theft by deception and was ordered to pay full restitution to the victims. A third person, Jacob Douek, 40, of Staten Island, N.Y., still faces charges in the scheme. The case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the state Motor Vehicle Commission after receiving information from the National Salvage Vehicle Reporting Program and ABC News, which investigated how flooded vehicles ended up on car lots. Original Article: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/car_dealer_who_fraudulently_sold_cars

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Police: (PA)Nanticoke man altered odometer, title of car he tried to sell

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KINGSTON — A Nanticoke man faces multiple charges after he allegedly altered the odometer and title of a car he sold to a Kingston man. State police at Wyoming say Terry Matthew Panetta, 33, acquired a silver Ford Mustang and the title to the vehicle in September 2013, then disassembled the instrument cluster and altered the odometer by “blacking out” digits with a black marker. Panetta then altered the vehicle title to indicate that the vehicle had less mileage than the actual mileage recorded, and then offered the car for sale on the Craigslist website, police said. A 21-year-old man from Kingston responded to the ad, met with Panetta to see the vehicle at a location on Pringle Street in Kingston and arranged to buy the car from Panetta, according to police. After the vehicle sale, the odometer discrepancy was discovered and the Kingston man, whom police did not identify, contacted state police. Following an investigation, police on Tuesday charged Panetta with felony counts of forgery, tampering with public records or information, changing an odometer reading and washing a vehicle title, a misdemeanor count of theft by deception/false impression and a summary count of improper transfer of ownership. Panetta was arraigned before District Judge James Roberts and released on $25,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 21 before Roberts. Original Article: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/50452291/

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