LOS ANGELES – A Tarzana man was sentenced Monday to two years in prison for odometer tampering, officials said.
U.S. District Court Judge George H. King sentenced Shamai Salpeter, 66, and ordered him to pay $421,666 in restitution to victims who purchased vehicles without knowing the odometer readings were incorrect.
“Tampering with odometers is a crime that puts consumers’ lives and wallets at risk,” said Administrator Mark Rosekind of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “We will continue to work with our Department of Justice and state DOT partners to deter odometer fraud and inform consumers of the potential signs and dangers associated with this crime.”
In November 2014, Salpeter plead guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of tampering with an odometer, officials said.
Salpeter admitted that from July 2008 through January 2012, he used electronic odometer tampering tools to alter hundreds of odometers at his residence in Woodland Hills, California, according to authorities.
For a payment of $100 to $400, officials said he reset the odometers to any mileage requested by his customers.
Frequently, his customers were trying to avoid penalties for exceeding the maximum mileage for their vehicle lease or to make their vehicle more valuable as a trade-in.
Many of the vehicles were subsequently sold to unsuspecting consumers who had no way to detect that the odometer readings were inaccurate, officials stated.
“Each time this defendant altered an odometer with an electronic odometer tampering tool, he violated federal law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to prosecute individuals engaged in odometer tampering to protect innocent purchasers from odometer fraud.”
Many of Salpeter’s customers were referred to him by Jeffrey Levy, a salesman at Galpin Ford in North Hills, California. Levy also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit odometer fraud.
On March 16, Levy was sentenced to serve one year in prison and ordered to pay $115,818 in restitution.