Laith Ghzo, a 37-year-old man from Oak Lawn, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to a years-long fraud conspiracy involving the tampering of odometer readings on hundreds of used cars.
Court records show that Ghzo bought cars with high mileage from auto auctions and then had their odometers rolled back to show lower mileage. He also changed the car title paperwork to reflect these false readings and submitted the altered titles to the Illinois Secretary of State to get “clean” titles.
Ghzo then sold these cars to car dealers who unknowingly sold them to consumers. This scam led to major financial losses for consumers.
The National Highway Traffic Administration estimates that odometer fraud costs consumers over $1 billion every year.
“Odometer fraud is a crime that predominantly affects the economically vulnerable, who are simply looking for transportation to work or to school but who cannot afford to purchase a new car,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Ghzo has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and could be sentenced to up to five years in prison. His sentencing is set for October 1. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service looked into the case. Trial Attorneys Joshua D. Rothman and Thomas S. Rosso from the Consumer Protection Branch of the Civil Division, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik Raman of the Northern District of Illinois, are handling the prosecution.
Image: Depositphotos
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