Harrisburg man altered odometer readings on more than 150 cars sold on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist
Police: Harrisburg man altered odometer readings on more than 150 cars sold on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist
Naomi Creason Aug 11, 2022 Updated Aug 11, 2022 0
A Harrisburg man faces charges after State Police said he altered odometer readings on unlicensed vehicle sales on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, which could have affected more than 50 victims from the surrounding area.
Earnest Fry, 47, was arraigned Thursday on nine felony counts each of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, theft by deception-false impression, deceptive business practices, washing vehicle titles, changing odometer readings and tampering with public information, as well as nine misdemeanor counts of making false applications for title registration and one count each of receiving stolen property and performing an action under false pretense.
Police said that Fry, over the course of five years, bought and sold more than 150 vehicles in the Harrisburg area. More than 50 of the vehicles Fry sold had their odometers tampered with prior to the sale.
Sentinel police log for Aug. 12
Police estimate more than 4 million miles were rolled back, costing victims about $150,000 in the fraud scheme. A majority of the victims are from the Harrisburg area, including its surrounding counties, and some are from out of state, police said.
Police said Fry was aided by Keith Fry and Calvin Everett, with each allegedly having varying knowledge of the operation. Keith Fry is charged with one felony count each of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, theft by deception, tampering with public information and changing odometer reading, as well as a slew of misdemeanor receiving stolen property counts.
Police said Everett is charged with one summary count of acting as a car dealer without a license, though court documents are not yet available on his case.
Earnest Fry and Keith Fry were both arraigned Thursday, with both remaining in Dauphin County Prison unable to post $10,000 cash bail each. A preliminary hearing for both men in the case is scheduled for Aug. 23.