Odometer tampering rolls Buford man to prison

Rolling back odometers on used cars and trucks drove a Buford man into an 18-month sentence in federal prison. The prison term will be followed by a year of supervised release, the first six months of which will include home detention, the Justice Department announced today.

Ronald Dale Cole, 55, pleaded guilty on May 30 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to two counts of odometer tampering. Cole was sentenced on Oct. 14 by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story, who also ordered the defendant to pay $191,395 in restitution, reflecting the amount the court found Cole had defrauded victims through his odometer fraud scheme.

Cole purchased high-mileage cars, sport-utility vehicles and trucks at wholesale auto auctions in Georgia and South Carolina, rolled back the odometers by an average of 97,742 miles and resold the vehicles at auto auctions. At sentencing, Judge Story found that Cole had sold 56 vehicles with altered odometers, with an average loss per victim of $3,418. Most of the vehicles Cole sold were more than 10 years old when he sold them.

Because of the age of the cars, Cole was not required to sign a disclosure certifying the mileage on these 10-year old vehicles as accurate. But each time he altered an odometer with intent to change the mileage on the odometer, he violated federal law.

"Just because a car dealer does not have to certify the mileage on so-called 'exempt' cars, that does not give him a license to roll back odometers," said Gregory G. Katsas, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. "We are vigilant in enforcing this important consumer protection law and will prosecute anyone who tries to skirt the law by rolling back odometers on vehicles of any age. This is especially important as cars last longer and longer and as people rely on older cars for reliable transportation."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (NHTSA) investigated this case. NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the U.S. results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints. Individuals having information relating to odometer tampering should call 800-424-9393 or 202-366-4761.

The case was prosecuted by Justice Department trial attorney Josh Burke with the Civil Division's Office of Consumer Litigation.
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