An Orlando man has pleaded guilty to three counts of odometer tampering. Drew Mitchell Schreiber, proprietor of Central Florida Automotive Group, now operating under the name Southeastern Credit Union Solutions, was charged with altering the mileage on used vehicles. This fraudulent practice was a bid to wrongly benefit from selling these cars to unwitting buyers across the United States.
According to a Justice Department release, Schreiber procured high-mileage vehicles from wholesale auctions throughout Florida, only to deceptively roll back their odometers significantly, sometimes by as much as 428,000 miles. He was able to quickly re-sell these tampered vehicles, enriching himself in the process by pushing 140 such cars to used-vehicle dealers via auto auctions or direct online sales.
"Just because a motor vehicle may be exempt from mileage recording on a title does not give a dealer the right to roll back odometers," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division stated, as per Office of Public Affairs press release. He highlighted the dependency of Americans on older cars for transportation and stressed the right of used car buyers to a correct vehicle odometer reading for their peace of mind.
A federal district court judge is to schedule a sentencing hearing soon, where they will determine Schreiber's sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The case against Schreiber was investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation and prosecuted by Trial Attorney David Sullivan of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara Wick for the Middle District of Florida.
Further details on the Consumer Protection Branch's enforcement actions can be found on the Justice Department's official website.
