Five Arrested in Organized Crime Ring

NOTFEA

On Friday, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office announced it had arrested five men in an $3.1 million racketeering scheme. The Sheriff’s Office also said it is still searching for five more suspects.

Tihomir Botchev

Botchev was the ‘ring leader’ according to the Sheriff’s Office. He was arrested Thursday. Credit William Mansell

Botchev was the ‘ring leader’ according to the Sheriff’s Office. He was arrested Thursday. Credit William MansellIn 2008 the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into a $3.1 million racketeering scheme involving luxury car and credit card fraud.

Five suspects were arrested Thursday in what the Sheriff’s Office is calling an organized crime ring. Five more suspects are still at-large.

Arrested Suspects:

  • Tihomir Botchev, 32, of 291 Keating Drive, Largo
  • Ivan Petrov, 31, of 2461 61st Lane, St. Petersburg
  • Georgi Angelov, 28, of 11440 8th Way N., St. Petersburg
  • Martin Jordanov, 27, of 4046 11th Street N, St. Peterburg
  • Lubomir Sandov, 47, 600 Brookside Drive, Clearwater
“Thanks to a partnership among national, state and local agencies, we have brought down a multi-million dollar fraud ring that has targeted local businesses in the Tampa Bay region, said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in a news release. “I am grateful to the Secret Service and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for their dedication to stopping this criminal operation.”

According to investigators, the suspects engaged in obtaining lines of credit in the form of credit card accounts and vehicle loans by providing false and/or inflated information to the lending institutions; and subsequently defaulting on those lines of credit.

The credit card activities centered on the creation of multiple fraudulent credit card accounts, investigators said. The suspects would then use the credit cards to make high-dollar purchases through collusive or shell corporations before the accounts went into default.

While the credit card applicants listed on the merchant account applications were listed in the names of several of the above listed suspects, the majority of the depository accounts were linked and funneled to suspect Botchev.

According to the Sheriff’s Office report, detectives say Botchev arranged for each of the suspects to be affiliated with a Florida or Illinois registered corporation for the purpose of utilizing said corporation as employment verification on the applications submitted to the financial institutions; and to establish a merchant account in order to conduct the credit card transactions.

On the credit card side, the suspects are responsible for an estimated $1 million loss to the financial institutions.

According to detectives, the funds from the fraudulent credit card transactions were then used to finance the vehicle fraud activities.

Detectives say after the suspects obtained a vehicle loan, the suspects arranged for the high-end vehicles purchased with said loan to be shipped overseas where the vehicles were sold.

According to the report, the suspects accomplished this by titling and registering the vehicles in the State of Illinois; using the shell corporations to uttered satisfaction of leans, thus enabling the suspects to obtain the clear vehicle titles needed to ship the cars overseas. The luxury vehicles include BMWs, Lexus’, Audis, Infinitis, Mercedes Benz’ and Acuras.

Most have been recovered in the U.S. and Lithuania. At this time detectives say the scheme included 37 vehicles and 46 transactions.

Botchev, the Sheriff’s Office said, appears to be the central figure in the organized scheme to obtain the vehicles through fraudulent means and then ship them overseas.

Investigators say he was also able to obtain duplicate titles on vehicles he had previously owned and registered in the State of Florida and had other suspects in the organization obtain a second loan on vehicles already shipped out of the country.

Suspects not arrested on thus far will be sought in the days and weeks to come.

“The successful investigation and outcome of this case could not have been possible without the team work and partnerships we have established with the U.S. Secret Service, the Florida Attorney General, Office of the Statewide prosecutor and Chicago area law enforcement officials,” said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri in a news release.

John Joyce, Special Agent in Charge, Tampa Field Office, and U.S. Secret Service praised the long-standing partnership with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office to address all forms of financial criminal activity.

“Through use of a well-developed financial crimes task force, our agencies have demonstrated the value of force multiplication affording investigative benefit to both agencies,” Joyce said in a news release. “By developing and sharing information and pooling our investigative resources, our agencies have put a significant dent into the illegal workings of Mr. Botchev and other members of his organized criminal group.”

Posted by Holly Merz

The dangers of buying a “clocked car”

NOTFEA

Over 1 million cars checked by HPI had a mileage discrepancy in 2011

www.hpicheck.com

Consumers need to protect themselves from the risk of buying a clocked car, warns vehicle history expert HPI.  Latest figures from HPI reveal an increase of more than 10% over the last 5 years in the number of used cars it checks recording a mileage discrepancy.  According to figures from HPI’s National Mileage Register (NMR), over 1 million cars it checked in 2011 had an inconsistent mileage reading, leaving buyers vulnerable to paying over the odds for a vehicle.

An HPI Check includes a mileage check as standard, offering used car buyers a safeguard against the growing danger of clocking. “It is simply too easy for sellers to hike up the value of a car by turning back the miles on the odometer, making clocking one of the biggest risks for consumers,” explains Kristian Welch, Consumer Director for HPI.

“Worryingly, we are seeing a new trend whereby some owners are clocking a car regularly throughout their ownership, making it even harder for buyers to establish if a vehicle’s mileage is correct.  We also know there are people who are returning leased cars to the leasing company, having adjusted the vehicle’s mileage so that they meet the terms of their PCP (personal contract plan/leasing) agreement, which is further adding to the problem. With 1 in 20 cars we check recording a discrepant mileage, buyers need to take steps to be sure their potential purchase really is everything it seems.”

Modern digital odometers make it easier than ever for clocked vehicles to evade detection. Whilst altering a car’s mileage is not illegal itself, not declaring that mileage change to a potential buyer is.  Clocking a vehicle can add potentially hundreds of pounds to the perceived value of a car. The real worry is that unsuspecting buyers could be saddled with higher running costs further down the line, as the vehicle is likely to have more general wear and tear than expected, and may have missed vital servicing intervals.

An HPI Check is the best way for consumers to protect themselves from fraudsters looking to make a fast profit. Using information that dates back to 1997, HPI’s National Mileage Register (NMR) contains over 135 million readings and is adopted as standard by leading motor retailers and manufacturers. This brings buyers extra assurance that a vehicle checked by HPI has not been clocked.  The HPI Check also offers a £30,000 Guarantee in the event of the information it provides being inaccurate, offering added peace of mind to used car buyers.

Kristian Welch concludes, “It’s alarming to think that people are exploiting new ways to reduce the mileage on a vehicle in order to put hundreds or even thousands onto the price tag. Unsuspecting buyers are being caught out every day, but they don’t need to be. HPI always has the most comprehensive mileage data available, so if the seller has clocked a vehicle, the HPI Check will know.”

Posted by Gary Mitchell

Georgia court orders $11,474 in restitution for car odometer fraud

NOTFEA
WILDER,v.THE STATE.A11A2223.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Decided: March 19, 2012.

DOYLE, Presiding Judge.

Richard Keith Wilder was convicted of forgery1 after entering a guilty plea pursuant to Alford v. North Carolina.2 The trial court entered a restitution order from which Wilder now appeals. For the reasons that follow, we vacate the order of restitution and remand with direction.

The proper amount or type of restitution shall be resolved by the ordering authority by the preponderance of the evidence. And the burden of demonstrating the amount of the loss sustained by a victim as a result of the offense shall be on the [S]tate. On review of a restitution order, the appellate court has the duty of reviewing the transcript to determine whether each party has met his or her specified burden and determining whether a restitution award was supported by the preponderance of the evidence.

So viewed, the record reveals that Wilder was indicted on two counts of first degree forgery for allegedly forging the names of two previous owners on a motor vehicle title and one count of alteration of an odometer.4 Wilder agreed to plead guilty to one of the two forgery charges in exchange for the State moving for entry of an order of nolle prosequi as to the remaining forgery charge and the alteration of an odometer charge.

At the guilty plea hearing, the State contended that Wilder sold a used vehicle to Andrea Berlin with a forged signature of a previous owner and an incorrect odometer for $7,900. The car immediately showed signs of disrepair, and Berlin invested $3,574 in repairs before attempting to resell the vehicle to another used car establishment, which offered her $1,700 for the vehicle.

At the guilty plea hearing, the State asked for a separate hearing on restitution and argued that the amount would be significant. During the plea colloquy, Wilder testified that he understood that there was restitution at issue in the case, and he would be required to pay the amount that the trial court would determine at the later hearing.

At the restitution hearing, the State presented evidence of the purchase amount of the vehicle as well as amounts Berlin spent in repairing the vehicle before giving it to a repairman after concluding that she could not invest more money in the automobile. At the hearing, the State contended that Wilder should be ordered to pay restitution in the amounts Berlin invested in the vehicle, both in its purchase and in its repair, while Wilder contended that those amounts did not flow from the forgery conviction.

The trial court entered its restitution order, finding that on March 5, 2007, Berlin purchased a vehicle from Wilder for $7,900 with mileage represented by Wilder to be 49,000, but in actuality the mileage was 98,000. Berlin was able to use the vehicle for three weeks during which time she invested $3,574 in repairs in the vehicle. Based on these findings, the trial court ordered Wilder pay Berlin $11,474 in restitution.

Wilder argues that the trial court erred by ordering him to pay restitution in the amount of the purchase price and repair expenses of the car because the State failed to meet its burden of proof. Wilder explains that his guilty plea was entered only as to forgery of the title document, which offense did not result in the losses making up the ordered amount of the restitution.

Pursuant to OCGA § 17-14-2 (2), damages recoverable through an order of restitution are “all damages which a victim could recover against an offender in a civil action based on the same act or acts for which the offender is sentenced. . . . The statute does not require that the damage be a direct result of the crime committed, but only that it be based on the same act or acts.”5 Moreover, “a defendant cannot be ordered to pay restitution for a count on which he was acquitted or not charged.”6 “Although the trial court was thorough in making written findings as to the calculation of the restitution award, it is nevertheless difficult to ascertain whether the court improperly included amounts based on” the nolle prossed charges in light of the trial court’s emphasis on the odometer readings.7 Thus, upon remand, the trial court should clarify its order to indicate whether any amounts were improperly included based on the nolle prossed charges and deduct those amounts, if any.8

Order of restitution vacated and case remanded with direction. Ellington, C. J., and Miller, J., concur.

Posted by Gary Mitchell

Used Car Dealer Facing Charges After Odometer Investigation

NOTFEA

Dave Gill is facing felony charges after complaints by an NBC10 viewer who bought a car at the lot he manages in Prospect Park.

 

A used car manager is facing felony charges after the NBC10 Investigators looked into complaints that he tampered with the odometer on one of his Jeeps.

A Prospect Park used car manager is facing felony charges after the NBC10 Investigators looked into complaints by an NBC10 viewer who bought a Jeep at his lot.

Dave Gill is accused of rolling back the odometer on the Jeep.

“The charges will be dropped then I’m coming after you,” Gill told NBC10’s Harry Hairston as he was going into court for his preliminary hearing.

Gill insists he’s done nothing wrong. He’s the manager of DeFilippo Brothers. Pennsylvania State Police have charged him with Prohibited Activities Relating to Odometers, one of two felony charges leveled against him. This all comes months after the NBC10 Investigators brought you the story of Rodney Gilmore.

Gilmore bought a 1998 jeep from DeFelippo Brothers in December of 2010. He says he started to have problems with the car immediately.

“It started to over heat, it wouldn’t start, it had issues with the cooling, brakes — there were a lot of issues,” Gilmore said.

Gilmore says that prompted him to get a Car Fax. According to state police documents, the report showed the Jeep had 84,000 miles on it when the used car company bought it, which is a lot more than the 67-thousand plus miles on the odometer when Gilmore bought the Jeep.

“Somebody, at some point along the line, tampered with the odometer, decreasing the mileage, the shown mileage, which would then be able to provide them an avenue to sell the vehicle at a higher price,” said state police officer Lou Vitali.

Gill’s attorney, Mike Malloy, says his client did nothing wrong. He blames the odometer. Malloy says if the car loses battery power, once it’s restored, the odometer reverts back to lower mileage.

“When it resets it’s going to go back to a different number,” Malloy told us.

Officer Lou Vitali says, “The paperwork really tells the tale.”

Gill is facing trial now. We’ll let you know what happens when he has his day in court.

Posted by Gary Mitchell

Four Men Sentenced To Prison For Conspiracy For Rolling Back Car Odometers

NOTFEA

United States Attorney Jenny A. Durkan
Western District of Washington

Four Men Sentenced To Prison For Conspiracy For Rolling Back Car Odometers

Seventy-five Cars Sold with Falsified Mileage

Department of Justice Seal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2, 2012

Four men from Puyallup, Washington were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to prison terms for conspiracy to sell used cars after tampering with the odometers, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.   RICKY RISTICK, 23, and his father ROBERT “BOB” RISTICK, 42, conspired to roll back the odometers on 36 different automobiles.  RICKY RISTICK was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ROBERT RISTICK was sentenced to two years in prison.  MILLER STEVENS, 32, and his brother STANLEY STEVENS, 28, conspired to roll back the odometers on 39 different vehicles.  MILLER STEVENS and STANLEY STEVENS were each sentenced to two years in prison.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said there was a significant safety problem created by the defendants’ crime.

The four men operated entities buying and selling cars under the names One Stop Auto and RSV Auto.   The RISTICKs are responsible for restitution for $144,000 in fraud losses.  The STEVENs are responsible for $156,000 in restitution for fraud losses.  According to records in the case, the men would purchase high mileage vehicles from both private sellers and used car dealers in Washington and Oregon.  The men would then have the odometers rolled back, so the new purchaser would think it was a low mileage vehicle.  The plea agreements describe examples of the scheme.  The RISTICKs admitted that in 2006, they bought a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado with 192,000 miles from a private seller in Oregon for $7,800.  In early 2007, they requested that an auto repair shop roll the odometer back to 64,521.  They then sold the Silverado to a car dealer in Wenatchee for $15,000.

In July 2006, MILLER STEVENS purchased a 2000 Toyota Tundra from a private party in Montesano for $12,400.  The truck had a reading of approximately 126,000 on the odometer.  STANLEY STEVENS took the vehicle to a Puyallup repair shop and requested that the odometer be reset to approximately 39,500.  The truck was resold in July 2006 to a private party in Tacoma for $15,000.  When the buyer discovered the fraud in August 2006, he demanded his money back.  The STEVENS then resold the vehicle to another unsuspecting buyer.

In asking for a significant sentence, prosecutors noted that the deceptive sales directly affected public safety.  “For example, one of the defendants’ victims told investigators that he bought a pickup with 68,900 miles on the odometer for his son to drive to school. The truck actually had more than 190,000 miles. According to the victim, the vehicle’s wheel fell off while his son was driving out of a parking lot and toward a highway. Had the incident occurred minutes later at high speed, the result could have been much more serious. The owner of a truck with 68,900 miles can reasonably expect that his wheels will not spontaneously detach…. Victims of odometer schemes do not simply lose money; they are led to drive vehicles that may be far less safe and reliable than they realize,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

Odometer tampering remains an important consumer problem.  To avoid becoming a victim of odometer fraud, the following tips can help:

  1. Have a mechanic you trust check out the car and look for signs of wear and tear that are inconsistent with the mileage on the odometer.
  2. Look for loose screws or scratch marks around the dashboard. This may signal that a mechanical odometer which has been manipulated with tools.
  3. Also on mechanical odometers, check to make sure that the digits in the odometer are lined up straight — particularly the 10,000 digit.
  4. Test drive the car and see if the speedometer sticks.
  5. Check for service stickers inside the door or under the hood that may give the actual mileage.
  6. Look in the owner’s manual to see if maintenance was listed or if pages that might have shown high mileage were removed.
  7. Ask the dealer whether a computer warranty check has been run on the car.
  8. Use a commercially-available computer search program that checks for mileage alterations. Some car dealers will give you one of these for free if you ask for it.
  9. Ask to see the title documents and look to see if the mileage reading on the documents has been altered. If the title is brand new, see if there is a reasonable explanation for the new title.  Odometer tampering rings often obtain new titles to hide mileage alterations or the true history of ownership of the car.
  10. Look to see if the steering wheel was worn smooth. Look for other signs of excessive wear on the arm-rest, the floor mats, the pedals for the brakes and gas, and the area around the ignition. If these items were recently replaced, that could also indicate efforts to hide the car’s true use and mileage.
  11. Don’t assume that mileage is accurate just because the vehicle has an electronic odometer.  Electronic odometers can be manipulated with electronic tools.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department, the Department of Transportation – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jerrod Patterson and Trial Attorney Alan Phelps with the U.S. Department of Justice Consumer Protection Branch.

Posted by Gary Mitchell

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

NOTFEA

Gary Mitchell

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

Four Puyallup men Four Puyallup men Four Puyallup men Four Puyallup men

 

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

Raleigh man charged with selling vehicles with altered odometers

NOTFEA
Francis Marino

Francis Marino

RALEIGH, N.C. —

A Raleigh man has been arrested and charged with selling vehicles with altered odometers out of his home.

Officials with the NC Division of Motor Vehicles License and Theft Bureau say Francis Marimo had been under investigation for months after a customer reportedly purchased a 2005 Honda Odyssey through an ad on Craigslist. The victim later discovered that the vehicle mileage had been changed.

During the investigation, agents learned Marimo would travel to different states to purchase the vehicles, then return to Raleigh where he would allegedly change the odometer cluster and then place the vehicle on Craigslist for sale.

On Tuesday inspectors seized four Honda odometer clusters, $17,200 in cash, keys to different vehicles, motor vehicle titles, and paper work pertaining to the sale of vehicles.

Marimo was charged with two counts of odometer fraud, two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, and one count of acting as a motor vehicle dealer without a license. He was placed in jail under a $3,000 secured bond.

Bureau officials say they continue to look into how long Marimo had been making such sales and says more charges are possible. Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of the fraud is asked to call the Bureau at (919)816-9194, ext. 2.

Posted by Gary Mitchell

Thank you!

NOTFEA

Our 2011 Conference in Charleston, West Virginia was terrific! Conference attendees received hours of quality education in techniques, skills and case presentations to further their expertise in odometer and title fraud issues.

Stay tuned for information on our 2012, combined MOTFEA/NOTFEA Conference in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Be sure and save the date: June 3rd-7th, 2012! More information will be in the NOTFEA/MOTFEA Conference link as it becomes available.

Posted by Kirk Ballard

In loan case, jury awards Independence woman more than $1 million

NOTFEA

An Independence woman recently won a $1,198,512 court judgment, with jurors finding that a finance company had misled her into making car payments she wasn’t obligated legally to pay.

The case, her lawyers said, pointed to an abusive lending practice that cuts particularly deep during tough economic times.
Lawyer Bernard Brown, who represented the woman, said the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act protects consumers who are unable to obtain car titles when their dealers go out of business. The law views such sales as “fraudulent,” and purchasers are not required to keep making payments if they cannot obtain the titles, Brown said.

“Consumers don’t know that they don’t have to pay, and in fact are entitled to all their payments back and their credit cleaned up,” Brown said.
How many consumers get stuck with such cars after dealers go out of business is difficult to say, acknowledged Brown, whose law practice specializes in automotive issues. But Missouri Department of Revenue figures show a 9 percent decline in the number of car dealer licenses issued in Jackson County between 2006 and 2010.

The problems for Brown’s client, Carrie Peel, began in August 2008 after she purchased a 2005 Ford Taurus for $12,450 the previous month, paying $3,500 down and financing the rest. Her 30-day temporary license tag was expiring and she went to the Department of Revenue to license the car. Her dealer paperwork didn’t include the title, which she needed for the license. But she got a shock when she returned to the dealer.

“When I went back up there, they were closed for business,” Peel said recently. “I’m looking in the window, and they’ve closed.”
The dealership had, however, sold her installment contract to Credit Acceptance Corp., a Michigan lender that is one of its industry’s leaders.
In her suit, Peel contended that when she called Credit Acceptance officials to tell them that she never received the title, she was told that it was “not our problem.”

“I was told I had to pay on the car whether I had a title or not,” Peel said. If she didn’t, “they said it would reflect on my credit report,” she said.
The company did not return a call seeking comment.

Unwilling to take the credit hit if she defaulted and the finance company repossessed, Peel said she kept paying on an untitled car that quickly became more and more of a burden. She and her husband kept the expired temporary tag taped in the window and occasionally attached a license plate from another vehicle to avoid getting stopped.

But Peel was trapped in the vehicle, she said. Without a title, she couldn’t sell the car. She didn’t have the credit to buy another vehicle. And she was stopped by police officers for driving an unlicensed vehicle, an experience she found “embarrassing and humiliating.”
The couple kept the car insured, though they knew that trying to collect an accident claim on an unlicensed car probably would be difficult.
As the months progressed, Peel paid more than $7,200 to the finance company
State officials suggested that she try a lawsuit to get the title, but hiring a lawyer would cost at least $500 upfront, money that Peel said she didn’t have.

In January 2010, Peel lost her retail job and qualified for Legal Aid services. A lawyer there spotted the consumer law that should have protected her and filed suit.
Brown, who later joined the suit with colleague Dale Irwin, said they offered to settle the case for as little as $30,000, but the finance company pushed for a trial.

After a week in court, jurors voted Peel $11,007.81 in actual damages and more than $1.18 million in a punitive award.
Though the punitive award is handsome, it is likely to be trimmed to conform to a state cap of $500,000 for such damages, Brown said. And half of that will go into a state fund for tort victims.
Still, Peel said she felt vindicated by the jury’s decision and plans to speak out further on other consumer protection issues.
“I hate bullies,” Peel said. “They’re my pet peeve.”

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/31/3346986/in-loan-case-jury-awards-independence.html