A Lake Worth Beach used car dealer is facing felony charges after Florida Highway Patrol investigators say he tampered with vehicle odometers to make cars appear to have far fewer miles than they actually did before selling them. Anthony Rodriguez, 33, owner of Brother's Best Deal Auto Sales, was arrested in connection with an alleged scheme that investigators say involved fake temporary tags and falsified documents.
According to court documents obtained by CBS12, investigators began looking into the dealership after a woman bought a 2016 Kia Sedona that had logged more than 182,000 miles before the dealership acquired it. By the time she bought it, the odometer showed just 68,000 miles — roughly 114,000 miles less, according to CBS12. That single sale reportedly opened the door to a much broader review of the dealership's inventory.
A Pattern Across Dozens of Vehicles
Investigators reviewed 139 vehicles sold by the dealership in 2024 and 2025, and CBS12 reported that more than half had mileage discrepancies. A Kia Forte with 251,000 miles was allegedly sold showing just 125,000 miles — another example of the gap investigators say they found repeatedly as they worked through the dealership's sales records.
The dealership reportedly bought high-mileage vehicles at auctions before the odometers were allegedly altered, per the same account. One former employee estimated that roughly 13 out of every 20 cars had fraudulent mileage, though that figure is the former employee's own estimate rather than a number independently confirmed by investigators' vehicle review.
Customers Say They Paid the Price
The consequences for buyers went beyond a bad surprise on paper. The Altima's buyer told investigators she spent more than $5,000 on repairs, and said she would not have bought the vehicle had she known its actual mileage, the report notes.
Employees allegedly referred to the person suspected of altering odometers as the “electrician” or “key guy,” who denied manipulating odometers and claimed he only made car keys for the dealership, according to the same account. Rodriguez allegedly admitted altering paperwork after customers signed it without notifying them, and investigators said he described the alleged scheme as driven by financial concerns and a desire to keep the business running — while he denied personally rolling back the odometers. He reportedly acknowledged that cars with higher mileage were worth less.
Charges and the Broader Search
Rodriguez faces an organized fraud charge involving property valued at $50,000 or more, along with several other felony counts tied to vehicles with tampered odometers, according to FHP. Investigators also seized eight vehicles with suspicious mileage during searches of two dealerships and reportedly found fraudulent temporary license plates in the process.
Odometer fraud is a problem well beyond Lake Worth Beach. Carfax reported that in 2023, over 2.1 million cars nationwide were identified with rolled-back odometers, placing Florida fourth in the nation for this type of fraud, according to NBC6. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates the practice costs American car buyers over $1 billion annually.
Similar schemes have surfaced elsewhere. In a Utah investigation, police estimated there could be 300 to 600 victims, with some buyers discovering their cars had about 100,000 more miles than what they had been told, according to KSL. Investigators in that case said the scheme involved buying cars for $1,000 to $3,000 in cash and reselling them for $5,000 to $10,000.
What Florida Law Requires
Florida law lays out specific rules for situations where an odometer cannot register the same mileage after service, repair, or replacement. Under Florida Statutes section 319.35, the device must be adjusted to read zero, and a written notice specifying the mileage before the work was performed must be attached to the vehicle's door frame, according to the Florida Senate.
