Odometer Rollback Scheme Sends Two Maryland Brothers to Federal Prison
Two brothers in Maryland are trading in car keys for federal prison sentences, after pleading guilty to running a scheme to roll back odometers on used cars.
According to prosecutors, brothers Kamal Khalid and Fnu Shahrukh bought high-mileage vehicles at auto auctions. They then altered the odometers to lower the mileage by an average of 124,000 miles and applied for titles using the fraudulent mileage readings. The vehicles were then sold to customers with the fraudulent information at inflated prices. The scheme ran from about 2016 to 2019.
“Khalid and his brother preyed on unsuspecting people simply looking to buy a reliable used car. But instead, these victims were deceived into purchasing vehicles that were well past their prime, so now the perpetrators must face the consequence of their criminal actions,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly Hayes for the District of Maryland.
The investigation was conducted by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in cooperation with other federal, state, and local officials.
NHTSA leadership points out that rolling back odometers also endangers public safety.
“In this case, the co-conspirators lowered the average vehicle’s mileage by 124,000, resulting in consumers grossly overpaying for used vehicles near or past their expected lifespans,” said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator Jonathan Morrison. “Buyers were purchasing vehicles without knowing that critical components like brakes, belts, and fluids were long past their service dates.”
Khalid pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud and was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison. Shahrukh was sentenced to 18 months. Both defendants were ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution.
NHTSA reminds anyone with information on odometer fraud to contact its vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 or to check out the odometer rollback section on the NHTSA website.
