Used Motor Vehicle Dealer Sentenced in Odometer Tampering Scheme

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release dated June 29, 2021, Shmuel Gali of New York was sentenced to 60 months in prison for tampering with car odometers and partaking in a money laundering scheme. For his crimes, he will be required to pay $3,936,000 in restitution.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division explained, “An automobile is one of the biggest purchases many consumers make. Misrepresenting used car mileages defrauds buyers and hides important information concerning safety and reliability. The Department of Justice will continue to work with law enforcement partners to prosecute odometer fraud.”

From 2006 to 2011, Shmuel Gali and his brother Chaim misrepresented the mileage on approximately 690 vehicles that they sold. They used false dealer names to purchase high mileage vehicles and then reduced the mileage to sell the vehicles at wholesale automobile auctions. On average, the odometers on these vehicles were rolled back 70,000 miles. The customers who purchased these cars assumed they were getting higher quality vehicles and paid higher prices.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis for the Eastern District of New York said of the crime, “This sentence sends a warning that this office will prosecute those who engage in odometer tampering and deliberately dupe consumers into unknowingly paying inflated prices for their motor vehicles. With the defendant being sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution to his victims, he is being held to account for his greed in contriving this fraudulent scheme.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (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.