‘High-Tech’ Thieves Hacked Into Newer-Model Nissans and Drove Away

Stolen cars were sold to unsuspecting buyers, police say
By Scott Gordon • Published June 11, 2020 • Updated on June 11, 2020 at 10:55 pm

Auto theft investigators say they’ve busted a “high-tech” ring of North Texas car thieves who hacked into newer-model Nissans, made their own electronic keys, and sold the cars to unsuspecting buyers.

“It can happen so fast,” said Commander Brian Sudan of the Tarrant Regional Auto Crimes Task Force. “We’ve seen thieves who can hack these cars in less than three minutes.”

The ring stole more than $1.2 million worth of cars from the streets of North Texas, some of them virtually brand new, police said.

Sudan didn’t want to give too many details on how the thieves were able to drive off in new cars but said they worked with used car dealers to get clean titles.

They do it by replacing the vehicle identification numbers so nobody knows it’s stolen, he said.

The number on a stolen 2020 Altima, for example, really belonged to another Altima which was found on a salvage lot to be sold for scrap.

Police have identified up to 62 stolen vehicles but suspect there are more. Only a small number have been recovered, Sudan said.

Gustavo Torres, 33, the alleged ringleader of the operation, was arrested.

Gustavo Torres

Investigators searched three used car dealers in Dallas who took the stolen cars and sold them to unsuspecting buyers.

“They have no clue they are buying a stolen car,” Sudan said.

So two people claim to own the same car.

“We run into some very sticky situations,” he said. “Somebody bought this car, paid a lot of money for it. And then there’s a person who lost this car and lost a lot of money.”

Sudan said the courts will have to decide the rightful owners.

He said there is little owners can do to protect their cars from getting hacked and stolen but did suggest locking doors, parking in well-lit areas and in a garage if possible.

As for used-car buyers, Sudan suggested researching the title and if it shows the car has been salvaged, it may indicate a problem.

While this car theft ring targeted Nissans, he said other thieves have learned how to hack into other brands such as General Motors.

View Original Story https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/high-tech-thieves-hacked-into-newer-model-nissans-and-drove-away-police/2387397/

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/

Police arrest fraud suspect hiding in his basement

Monroe Police Badge Monroe police officers arrested Jovani Capozziello, 33, with assistance from Bridgeport officers, at his home Tuesday, where he was hiding in the basement, according to police.

Jovani Capozziello

Capozziello was charged with illegal tampering with an odometer, third-degree larceny, third-degree telephone fraud, criminal impersonation, and three counts of second-degree forgery.

He was released on $25,000 bond for a July 24 court date, then released to the Bridgeport Police Department on its active arrest warrants for other incidents.

On Feb. 26, a Monroe man filed a fraud complaint, telling police he inquired about a vehicle posted for sale on Craigslist on Feb. 25 and spoke to the seller, who went by the name of Carlos.

After agreeing to terms, police said the victim met the seller at the Henny Penny gas station at 241 Roosevelt Drive in Monroe on Feb. 25, did a test drive and was satisfied with the vehicle, according to the report.

Police said he paid the seller $3,000 in cash for the Subaru and received a copy of the Connecticut Certificate of Title and Assignment of Ownership (Bill of Sale) for the vehicle.

But when the victim attempted to register and insure the vehicle, he discovered the title was fraudulent, the odometer had been altered and the Subaru was actually one year older than the seller originally told to him.

After communicating with “Carlos” about these discrepancies, he received an altered New York Certificate of Title that was mailed without a return address, police said.

During the investigation, Monroe police detectives used phone records to develop Jovani Capozziello as a suspect. Based upon this information and the victim’s statements, an arrest warrant was granted by the Superior Court.

View original story: Monroe Sun Article

Atlantic man pleads guilty to wire fraud

By Jeff Lundquist Atlantic News Telegraph Publisher 3/24/2020

United States District Judge has accepted a guilty plea from Atlantic businessman Larry Scott Fulk to one count of wire fraud for swapping out high mileage odometers with lower lower mileage ones without disclosing that to potential buyers.

Fulk, owner of Second Street Repair in Atlantic, had been facing three counts of wire fraud for selling vehicles out of state in California and Virginia and 15 counts of odometer fraud. Under the plea agreement, filed Feb. 21 and accepted last week, Fulk admits that he “knowingly devised a scheme to defraud the individual buyers by replacing the odometer cluster of the used car with another odometer cluster that had lower mileage. Defendant’s scheme to defraud sought to obtain money from the individual buyers by falsely representing the car to have lower mileage than the actual mileage of the car.”

The agreement goes on to state, “(the) Defendant advanced, furthered, and carried out the scheme by transmitting writings and other information by means of a wire communication in interstate commerce when he posted and advertised the used cars with a false mileage amount and inflated price.

The crime carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison; a maximum fine of $250,000; and a term of supervised release of up to three years. A mandatory special assessment of $100 per count of conviction also must be imposed by the sentencing court. The parties in the case have agreed to a sentencing guideline of between 12 and 18 months and the government has not to advocate for sentence higher than six months in prison — although the actual sentence will be determined by judge who does not have to follow the recommendations.

Sentencing is set for July 9 at 1 p.m.

Original article posted here

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of Mississippi

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Two Mississippi Men Sentenced for Roles in Automotive Fraud Scheme

Two Long Beach, Mississippi men were sentenced today for their roles in a long-running odometer tampering scheme, the Department of Justice announced.

U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. sentenced Oscar M. Baine, 42, to 36 months’ incarceration and ordered him to pay $619,200 in restitution. Jeffrey Lyn Savarese II, 36, was sentenced to 15 months’ incarceration and ordered to pay $320,000 in restitution. Both men pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to alter odometers. Baine also pleaded guilty to odometer tampering.

As part of his guilty plea, Baine admitted that he purchased high-mileage vehicles from wholesale automobile auctions, dealerships, and individuals, and arranged to alter the vehicles’ odometers to reflect false, lower-mileage readings. Baine admitted that he paid Savarese and others to change or alter odometers at his used car lot in Gulfport. Baine then sold the rolled-back vehicles to unsuspecting consumers for inflated prices. He also admitted that he and a co-conspirator caused at least 387 vehicles to be rolled back between 2011 and 2014, which resulted in consumer losses of more than $600,000. Savarese admitted that he began altering odometers for Mississippi and Louisiana used-car dealers in 2011 and reset the odometers on at least 200 used vehicles for Baine.

“The Department of Justice has long been committed to prosecuting automobile dealers, wholesalers, and mechanics who defraud consumers by selling vehicles with unlawfully altered odometers,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Vehicle mileage is critical to consumers who rely on that information to evaluate the value and safety of a used vehicle.”

“These criminals not only defrauded hundreds of people but they directly put families and the general public at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst of the Southern District of Mississippi. “We will continue to do all that we can to protect our citizens from fraudsters who endanger others just to make a quick buck.”

Senior Litigation Counsel Linda I. Marks of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi prosecuted the case. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (NHTSA), assisted by the State of Mississippi Office of the Attorney General, investigated the case.

NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States 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 (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761. More information on odometer fraud is available on the NHTSA website at https://www.nhtsa.gov/odometer-fraud and tips on detecting and avoiding odometer fraud are available at www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nvs/pdf/811284.pdf .

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

NHTSA Announces Final Rule on Electronic Odometer Disclosures

Rule will speed up processing of vehicle sales, help prevent odometer fraud

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced the publication of a Final Rule establishing standards under which States may allow for odometer disclosures in an electronic format.

Odometer fraud is a Federal crime and NHTSA has required sellers to disclose vehicle odometer readings at the time of sale for decades. However, most vehicle transfers have been subject to a requirement that odometer disclosures be made in a paper format with handwritten names and wet ink signatures.

This Final Rule removes the paper requirement by allowing for electronic disclosure systems that have robust security and authentication. This action also removes the last remaining Federal impediment to paperless motor vehicle transfers.

By removing the paper documentation requirement, today’s Final Rule opens the door for State Departments of Motor Vehicles to move toward paperless transactions. Paperless transactions will save time and reduce costs for consumers and industry, create economic efficiencies, and improve security.

“This Final Rule was written after carefully considering comments received from the public, including state motor vehicle departments,” NHTSA Acting Administrator James Owens said. “As more records are kept digitally, this rule will allow electronic filing of odometer information. Electronic records are more efficient than paper documentation and are harder to forge, helping to prevent fraud.”

Current law does not require odometer disclosure with the transfer of vehicles at least 10 model years old. Due to the current average vehicle age of almost 12 years, an increasingly large proportion of the fleet is subject to a heightened risk of odometer fraud. To accommodate older vehicles, the Final Rule will require odometer disclosures until vehicles are 20 years old, beginning with the 2010 model year.

Read Final Rule

Man Pleads Guilty to Vehicle Odometer Rollback Scheme

County of Los Angeles District Attorney Seal

A Studio City man pleaded guilty today for operating a computerized odometer rollback business for vehicles that were leased from dealerships in the San Fernando Valley and Glendale, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Serge Oganesian, 45, entered his plea to six felony counts: one count of conspiracy to commit grand theft and five counts of computer access and fraud.

Sentencing in case BA472209 is scheduled for April 21, 2020, in Department 50 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. The defendant is expected to receive a 16-month jail sentence and will be ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.

Oganesian had been running his odometer rollback business since April 2015 in North Hollywood, Glendale and Studio City at various times, according to Deputy District Attorney Leonard Torrealba of the Consumer Protection Division.

The defendant hacked the computers of 12 vehicles and rolled back the vehicle odometer readings. The altered mileage amounted to $76,394 in false vehicle appreciation, the prosecutor said.

Vehicle valuation is highly dependent on vehicle mileage. Consumers rely on the vehicle odometer reading in making their used car purchases, the prosecutor added.

The case was investigated by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, with assistance from the District Attorney’s Office’s Bureau of Investigation.

Original Article: http://da.co.la.ca.us/media/news/man-pleads-guilty-vehicle-odometer-rollback-scheme

Huntsville Man Sentenced to 2 ½ Years in Prison for Tampering with Vehicle Odometers

Huntsville – A federal judge today, sentenced a Huntsville man for tampering with vehicle odometers and bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Secret Service Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Holloway.

A federal jury convicted Randy Eugene Greene, 62, in April of 11 counts of tampering with vehicle odometers and 3 counts of bank fraud. U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced Greene to 30 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release and ordered him to pay more than $109,000 in restitution to the victims. The judge also entered a forfeiture judgment in the amount of $28,000.

“Greene violated the trust and confidence placed in him by the consumers and financial institutions,” Town said. “The theft and misuse of funds will not be tolerated by those who operate these type of schemes. They will be charged with federal crimes and will to go federal prison.”

“It is very important that consumers and financial institutions know that the vehicle being purchased from any auto dealership represents the true odometer reading,” Holloway said. “This type of fraud scheme can cause unwitting consumers significant financial hardship in repair bills from a vehicle they believed was in much better condition.”

Randy Eugene Greene, d/b/a RJ’s Auto Sales on South Memorial Parkway in Huntsville, was convicted by the jury of 11 counts of tampering with vehicle odometers and 3 counts of bank fraud. In the 11 counts related to odometer tampering, the offenses occurred between approximately October 1, 2014, and November 2, 2016. The largest discrepancy in the changed odometer reading was approximately 218,678 miles. The average discrepancy in the mileage on the odometers for the various vehicles was 122,046 miles. In the three counts related to Bank Fraud, Greene engaged in a scheme to defraud Redstone Federal Credit Union. The fraud occurred when the credit union financed three of the vehicles on which the odometers had been changed. Greene was served with a notice of forfeiture related to the bank fraud counts, which includes but is not limited to a money judgement in the amount of $28,000.

U.S. Secret Service is investigated the case, which Assistant United States Attorney Russell E. Penfield and R. Leann White prosecuted.

Original Article: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndal/pr/huntsville-man-sentenced-2-years-prison-tampering-vehicle-odometers

Huntsville car salesman sentenced for odometer tampering, bank fraud

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – On Thursday, a federal judge sentenced a Huntsville man for tampering with vehicle odometers and bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Secret Service Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Holloway.

[ Huntsville car salesman convicted of tampering with odometers, bank fraud ]

A federal jury convicted Randy Eugene Greene, 62, in April, of 11 counts of tampering with vehicle odometers and three counts of bank fraud.

U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon sentenced Greene to 30 months in prison followed by three years supervised release. Greene is also ordered to pay more than $109,000 in restitution to the victims.

The judge also entered a forfeiture judgment in the amount of $28,000.

Prosecutors say Greene was rolling back odometers at RJ’s Auto Sales on South Memorial Parkway. The 11 counts related to these convictions occurred between approximately Oct. 1, 2014, and Nov. 2, 2016. Prosecutors say the largest discrepancy in the changed odometer reading was approximately 218,678 miles, and the average discrepancy in the mileage on the odometers for the various vehicles was 122,046 miles.

[ Federal investigators say Huntsville used car dealer rolled back odometers ]

In the three counts related to bank fraud, Greene was convicted of engaging in a scheme to defraud Redstone Federal Credit Union. The fraud occurred when the credit union financed three of the vehicles on which the odometers had been changed.

Greene was served with a notice of forfeiture related to the bank fraud counts, which includes but is not limited to a money judgement in the amount of $28,000.

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell E. Penfield and R. Leann White prosecuted.

Original Article: https://www.waff.com/2019/08/22/huntsville-car-salesman-sentenced-tampering-with-odometers-bank-fraud/

Clocking is still affecting 6.49% of UK vehicles today

Dashboard of car

A Rapid Car Check survey has found that 6.49% of vehicles have mileage issues.

In a pool of 1 million, 64,986 were found to have issues, despite members of the European Parliament voting in favour of new legislation to combat mileage clocking in cars in 2018.

The most common clocked vehicles were the Renault Grand Scenic and Renault Scenic, with a fail percentage of 32.66% and 32.14% respectively.

The most common year of vehicle registration was 1998 with a 16.47% fail rate. Vehicle registered in the 1990’s made up six of the top 10, with no vehicles registered after 2003 present.

Overall, rapid check estimates that 2,479,180 vehicles in the UK have mileage issues.

Before passing legislation in 2018, German MEP Ismail Ertug said around 50% of used cars sold inside the EU, and between 30% and 50% of cars sold across borders within the EU, had been clocked.

MEPs called new legislation that included national mileage registers to be made accessible across borders. Car buyers should be able to verify mileage readings regardless of the country it was previously registered.

They also called for carmakers to set clear criteria for checking that odometers are tamper proof.

Barry Shorto, head of industry relations at cap hpi, said at the time: “In Belgium and the Netherlands where readings are collected more frequently than elsewhere, odometer fraud has been almost eradicated.

“We fully support calls for mileage alternation or clocking to be made a criminal offence. Even though clocking has a negative impact on road safety, only six EU countries recognise odometer manipulation as a criminal offence.”

Original Article: https://www.motortrader.com/motor-trader-news/automotive-news/clocking-still-affecting-6-49-uk-vehicles-today-07-08-2019

NOTFEA

Working to deter odometer and title fraud

News Articles