COLUMBUS, Ohio – Simon C. Nwaru, Jr., the 38-year-old former owner of S. Automotive Ltd., pleaded guilty today in federal court for his role in a massive odometer fraud scheme.
The Columbus man was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2025 and is accused of altering odometers on approximately 60 percent of vehicles sold at his dealership since October 2014, effectively defrauding customers out of millions.
According to the plea agreement, Nwaru’s actions between January 2021 and January 2023 resulted in at least 300 vehicles being sold with rolled-back odometers, accounting for the deletion of at least 31 million miles. The scheme also involved listing false sales prices on documents submitted to the State of Ohio, leading to a loss of tax revenue.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the guilty plea before Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Prichard is representing the United States in this case.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Investigations Section. NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud costs U.S. consumers over $1 billion annually and encourages the public to report such fraud.
Odometer tampering is a federal crime with penalties up to three years in prison. The sentence for Nwaru will be determined at a future hearing based on Federal Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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