Category Archives: Television

Digital rollbacks: Millions of cars have false mileage on odometers

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(InvestigateTV) – There’s a hidden danger on the roads – one that’s illegal and potentially putting families at risk: rolled-back odometers. Experts say vehicle odometers are easier than ever to roll back. “Our research shows there are now 1.6 million cars that are on roads across the country that have an odometer rolled back, and that’s costing consumers millions of dollars,” said Chris Basso, who works with Carfax, a company that provides vehicle history reports. In a demonstration with Carfax, an odometer on a 2006 Chevy Silverado with 230,323 miles was tampered with in less than 30 seconds. A technician with an inexpensive electronic device was able to erase nearly 100,000 miles of wear, tear and history, leaving the Silverado with 130,483 miles. Watch the video below to see a demonstration of an odometer rollback and hear how that affects the value of a vehicle. “You’re simply taking a device that hacks into the car’s computer. You could take 100,000 miles off a car and artificially inflate the value of it by thousands of dollars, and you’re ripping people off,” Basso said. Those rollbacks can be dangerous and expensive for consumers. “You’ve got older parts that you think the car has that could break down sooner than you expect,” Basso said. “If that car’s being driven and those parts break down, then not only are the passengers of that vehicle in possible danger, but everyone else on the road too.” Original Article (and more): https://www.nbc12.com/2019/04/25/digital-rollbacks-millions-cars-have-false-mileage-odometers/

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Dealership Owner Gets Probation for Tampering With Odometers

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SIOUX CITY, IOWA (AP) — A Nebraska man has been given three years of probation for tampering with odometers sold at his vehicle dealership in northwest Iowa. The Sioux City Journal reports that 38-year-old Francisco Hurtado also was sentenced Wednesday to a suspended prison sentence of five years, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay more than $19,000 to seven victims. He’d pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent practice. Authorities say Hurtado lives in South Sioux City, Nebraska, and owns Siouxland Auto Sales in Sioux City. Iowa investigators say they found odometers in high-mileage vehicles had been rolled down to increase the vehicles’ value. Court records say Hurtado acknowledged replacing odometer clusters on some vehicles. The records say, however, that Hurtado had not followed Iowa law in resetting the replaced odometers to zero or to the original mileage, nor placing notices on the dashboards noting that the odometer clusters had been replaced. Original Article: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/nebraska/articles/2019-04-11/dealership-owner-gets-probation-for-tampering-with-odometers

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Former Kennett, MO man sentenced on mail fraud charges

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A former Kennett, Missouri man has been sentenced on felony mail fraud.  CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) – A former Kennett, Missouri man has been sentenced on felony mail fraud. According to the Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office, Nicholas H. Brock, 36, now of Brookland, Arkansas, was sentenced to four months home confinement and five years of probation for mail fraud. Brock was also order to pay $78,180.98 in restitution. In his guilty plea in federal court on Nov. 5, 2018, Brock admitted to defrauding a lienholder for an over-the-road tractor trailer truck claim to the Missouri Department of Revenue that he towed a truck for a breakdown. He claimed the truck had been abandoned and tried to get a title for the vehicle through the Department of Revenue. Brock admitted in court that the fraud began on or about Feb. 10, 2017 and continued through or about June 13, 2017 in Dunklin County, Mo. The case was investigated by the Missouri Department of Revenue and the Missouri State Highway Patrol and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul W. Hahn. Original Article: https://www.kfvs12.com/2019/03/18/former-kennett-mo-man-sentenced-mail-fraud-charges/

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Odometer fraud on the rise in Austin and costing car buyers thousands of dollars

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Used car buyers in Austin are getting ripped off in record numbers. Con artists are rolling back the mileage on odometers to make the vehicles seem more valuable. The fraud is costing victims an average of $4,000 each. Kristin Young thinks she was duped. She and her husband bought a used car believing it had low miles. Instead, they discovered the odometer was rolled back about 67,000 miles to make the car seem more valuable. “$5,000 invested and it’s probably worth about $1,500,” said Kristin. “For us that’s a lot of money and a lot of sacrifice,” said Ferron Young. Carfax data suggests that 1.5 million vehicles on the road have had their odometers rolled back. 10-percent of them are in the state of Texas. “It is getting worse. It is growing every year,” said Chris Basso, a used car expert with Carfax. Basso setup a demonstration to show how easy it is to put any number you want on a digital odometer. “We’ve got a truck that has 230,000 miles on it right now,” said Basso. That would make the truck’s value around $3,600. But in less than one minute the odometer was rolled back to 130,000 miles. “And there you go it’s done already. 100,000 miles taken off the odometer,” said Basso. “Somebody can now charge more than double what this car is actually worth.” CBS Austin asked for a second demonstration using our own numbers. “We’re going to plug that in right now,” said Basso. And in 54 seconds the odometer was rolled back from 130,000 miles to 86,000. “And that’s the scary thing, isn’t it? You’re essentially hacking the car’s computer just by plugging it into the device that we have. Those things are available through internet searches that conmen are using to rip people off,” said Basso. … Continue Reading

Odometer fraud and how to avoid it

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  Even with the dawn on the digital odometer, used car buyers should be aware of odometer fraud. That’s the warning from Carfax. “In fact these digital odometers can be easier to rollback because A) we’re not looking for it and B), there’s widespread availability of tools that simply plug into the car’s computer and essentially hacking it,” said Chris Basso of Carfax. Basso suggests checking with a site like Carfax or having an auto mechanic check out the car you’re considering before you purchase. For the full demonstration of how a digital odometer can be rolled back, see the video player above.   Original Article: https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Odometer-fraud-and-how-to-avoid-it-504991461.html

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Kennett man pleads guilty to fraud charge

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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The United States Attorney’s Office announced that Nicholas H. Brock, 36, of Kennett, Missouri, pled guilty to one felony count of mail fraud. He appeared before United States District Judge John A. Ross. Brock admitted that beginning on or about Feb. 10, 2017, and continuing through about June 13, 2017, in Dunklin County, Missouri, he defrauded a lienholder for an over-the-road tractor-trailer truck financed by North Mill Equipment Finance, LLC, for a 2008 Peterbilt over-the-road truck in which the lender retained a security interest. Brock prepared and sent, via the mail, a Form 4577, Missouri Department of Revenue, Vehicle Owner and Lienholder notification to the lender, falsely claiming that a 2008 Peterbilt over-the-road tractor-trailer truck had been towed by his towing company, Elite Tow & Recovery, from Pendleton, Oregon, on February 10, 2017, for a “breakdown.” The towing charge was $16,096 plus storage costs of $100 a day. Brock mailed the fraudulent Form 4577 for the purpose of obtaining a clean title for that vehicle from the Missouri Department of Revenue as an abandoned vehicle, based on the lienholder’s failure to pay the tow bill after receiving notice of the bill. Brock also prepared a Form 4576, Missouri Department of Revenue Abandoned Property Affidavit, in which Brock falsely represented to the Missouri Department of Revenue that the 2008 Peterbilt truck had been abandoned. Brock mailed that form to the Missouri Department of Revenue to obtain a Certificate of Title for the over-the-road truck, based on a bogus and false tow bill. On or about May 11, 2017, Brock caused the mailing of an Application for Missouri Title and License for the 2008 Peterbilt over-the-road truck to the Missouri Department of Revenue to obtain a Missouri Certificate of Title for the 2008 Peterbilt truck. Brock then obtained … Continue Reading

Tip leads investigators to stolen vehicles in suspected chop shop in Independence

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Emily Rittman/KCTV5 A number of stolen vehicles were found inside a suspected ‘chop shop’ in Independence. When officers inspected a storage lot, they found dismantled vehicles with VIN numbers missing. Among them was the truck that belonged to Brian Sollars, who posted a picture of his stolen 2012 GMC online on the Stolen KC Facebook page. Sollars said a stranger reached out to him shortly after, providing details about the truck. “He said he knew where my truck was and described it perfectly,” Sollars said. “He asked me if I had a pen and paper and told me to write it down. I thought he was full of it at first.” The address was for a storage lot off Atherton Road near 24 Highway in Independence. Sollars reported the tip to investigators who got permission to inspect the property. Inside there was a stolen tow dolly and a stolen John Deer gator. Outside, there was a stolen Kawasaki motorcycle, a stolen F350 truck, two stolen Dodge trucks and a stolen Harley Davidson tricycle bike. Randall Bennett III, the man who was subleasing the lot, is charged with operating an auto salvage business without a license. More charges are possible. Original Article: https://www.kctv5.com/news/tip-leads-investigators-to-stolen-vehicles-in-suspected-chop-shop/article_275d8e36-77c8-5c2f-9f50-6ac709ded15e.html

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Maine couple stuck with a lemon of a vehicle – and now they know why

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Patrick and Kristi Smith of Waterville stand with their 2005 Subaru Outback after learning Thursday that the vehicle’s seller, James Shaw of Standish, allegedly tampered with the odometer. “It actually answers a bunch of questions for us,” Kristi Smith said. “We’ve had nothing but problems.” Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans When Kristi Smith and her husband, Patrick, bought their Subaru from a Standish man in January 2017, she knew something seemed off. The 2005 Outback had only 117,000 miles on it, and for the Smith family, the price was right – $3,500. “We went to go buy the car and the guy wouldn’t look me in the face,” said Kristi Smith, 43. “But it was a really good deal with low miles, so it was like, ‘Whatever.’ ” Now, 15 months and several thousand dollars in car repairs later, the Smiths are among more than a dozen car buyers who were allegedly suckered by James Shaw, 35, who has been charged with tampering with the vehicles’ odometers and other crimes. Shaw was supposed to appear Thursday in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court to answer to the 17-count complaint, but he didn’t show up, so a judge issued a warrant for his arrest, court records show. The complaint, issued by the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles, is the culmination of two years of work. Until Thursday, the Smiths were unaware that their vehicle was the subject of a criminal complaint, or that the car’s mileage was fraudulent. When Kristi Smith heard the charges that Shaw faces, things clicked. The car that Shaw sold the Smiths had closer to 200,000 miles on it when they bought it, the complaint said. “It actually answers a bunch of questions for us,” she said. “We’ve had nothing but problems with that stinkin’ Subaru.” The … Continue Reading

Iowa DOT warning of cars sold with odometers rolled back

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) — A Sioux City car dealer was rolling back odometers on vehicles to show fewer miles and increase the vehicle’s value, the Iowa Department of Transportation says. The DOT says the fraud happened at Siouxland Sales in Sioux City from 2016 to 2018. The DOT says it got a tip in December of last year. An investigation found three victims and 14 vehicles that were tampered with. Authorities served a search warrant on Jan. 17. Siouxland Sales owner Francisco Hurtado was booked in the Woodbury County Jail April 26 on six counts of second-degree fraudulent practice. Anyone affected should call the Bureau of Investigation and Identity Protection at 515-237-3050 or email invbureau@iowadot.us with vehicle and contact information. Original Article: http://kcci.com/article/iowa-dot-warning-of-cars-sold-with-odometers-rolled-back/20172284?src=app

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Man pleads guilty to running license plate fraud ring

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HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A New York man has admitted to operating a crime ring that rented out more than a thousand fake Pennsylvania license plates. Rafael Levi, 51, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty Friday in Dauphin County Court to 36 third-degree felonies, Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office said. Levi was charged in April 2017 with more than 500 counts. Prosecutors said the ring charged $400 a month for fake plates that people used in order to avoid paying more than $1 million in parking fines and highway tolls in New York, Pennsylvania, and neighboring states. The ring dubbed “Operation Car Wash” also provided fake insurance cards, rolled back odometer readings on cars it bought and sold, and issued phony letters to PennDOT to get clean vehicle titles. Levi also pleaded guilty on behalf of nine businesses. Each will be ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and a civil penalty of $15,000. Eight members of the ring also pleaded guilty Friday to crimes including theft and insurance fraud. Shapiro said his office is seeking restitution of more than $1.5 million from the defendants. As part of his plea, Levi agreed to forfeit numerous luxury vehicles including a 2015 Rolls Royce Wraith, a 2015 Ferrari, and a 2007 Ferrari F430. Original Article: http://abc27.com/2018/03/12/man-pleads-guilty-to-running-license-plate-fraud-ring/

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