Four Sentenced in Federal Court in Odometer Fraud- Craigslist Crime Ring

• Investigation conducted by USDOT-NHTSA, Seattle PD, IRS-CID, WA Dept. Licensing
• Prosecution by USDOJ Consumer Protection Branch and United States Attorney Office-Seattle WA

TACOMA — Four Puyallup men are headed to federal prison for their roles in a scheme to roll back odometers on cars and then sell them on Craigslist.

In federal court in Tacoma, prosecutors said the group lopped off an average of 95,000 miles on each car they sold and handed to unsuspecting buyers the keys to potentially dangerous vehicles.

Robert Ristick, Miller Stevens and Stanley Stevens were each sentenced to two years in prison Friday. Ricky Ristick was sentenced to 18 months in prison. All the men live in Puyallup and many of the vehicles were sold in that area.

Justice has been a long time in coming for many victims. Charging documents state the men rolled back the mileage on 75 cars but authorities believe the number actually involved hundreds, if not thousands, of cars and trucks.

Posted by Gart Mitchell