Jeffrey Levy, Odometer Tampering, California 2014

A car salesman from Woodland Hills, California, has been sentenced to prison for his role in a massive odometer tampering scheme that defrauded customers out of thousands of dollars.

Jeffrey Levy, 63, was sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison on charges related to the scheme, which involved conspiring with a co-defendant to alter the odometers of vehicles at his dealership, Galpin Ford.

According to court documents, Levy worked with his co-conspirator, Shamai Salpeter, to roll back the odometers of vehicles in the driveway of Salpeter’s home in Woodland Hills. Levy would then sell the vehicles to customers with the altered odometer readings, without disclosing the true mileage to Galpin Ford.

In total, Levy was ordered to pay $115,818.80 in restitution to the victims of the scheme, who purchased vehicles without knowing the true odometer readings.

Levy pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to tamper with odometers in November 2014, and was sentenced earlier today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

The investigation into the scheme was conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation and California’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

Odometer tampering is a serious crime that can have serious consequences for consumers, including paying thousands of dollars more for a vehicle than its true value. According to NHTSA, odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually.

For more information on odometer fraud and how to detect and avoid it, visit the NHTSA website.

Related Federal Cases