A Georgia man running a Virginia dealership retailing repaired salvage units pleaded guilty to operating an odometer fraud scheme involving more than 100 vehicles, according to an announcement from the Department of Justice. 

Officials said last week that Paul Robinson, of Lawrenceville, Ga, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Va., to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and odometer tampering. 

Robinson owned and operated Affordable Auto Body Repair, a repair shop and licensed salvage vehicle dealer located in Chesapeake, Va. The Justice Department indicated Robinson purchased older vehicles, many of which had been involved in accidents, from an auction specializing in vehicles from insurance companies.  On more than 100 of these vehicles, officials said Robinson altered or replaced the odometer to reflect a false, lower mileage. 

The Justice Department said Robinson then obtained fraudulent Virginia motor vehicle titles with mileage readings matching the false, lower mileage on the new odometer, and passed these falsified title documents on to the vehicle purchasers. 

Officials determined Robinson obtained many of these fraudulent titles from a former DMV Select clerk named Steven Bazemore. In many instances, DOJ said Robinson asked Bazemore to return the documents used to procure the fraudulent titles rather than retaining the documents in the DMV file system.  Officials acknowledged this strategy made it more difficult for the DMV to detect the fraud. 

On Sept. 22, Bazemore was sentenced to one year of home confinement and ordered to pay restitution to the ultimate purchasers of the vehicles.  Robinson’s sentencing is scheduled for June 8.

“We buy vehicles to help assist us in many aspects of our lives,” said acting assistant attorney general Chad Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “No consumer makes such a significant purchase lightly and we have to be able to trust that a dealer is not selling one car and actually supplying a vastly inferior automobile paired with falsified title documents. 

“We are committed to prosecuting individuals who break that trust by rolling back odometers and passing off phony title,” Readler continued.

This case was investigated by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (NHTSA) and the Virginia DMV.  NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints. 

Individuals having information relating to odometer tampering can call (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761.